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A novel nano-WS2/graphene nanosheets (GNSs) composite is obtained by ball milling with xylitol as auxiliary agent and high-temperature sintering. Xylitol improves the shear force during ball milling and well overcomes the van der Waals interactions between the interlayer of graphite and WS2. Through high-temperature calcination, GNSs and WS2nanosheets can form tight interface contact. The produced WS2/GNSs composites can be used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, while maintaining a high reversible specific capacity of 705 mAh·g−1with the capacity retention of 95% at a current density of 250 mA·g−1after 200 cycles, mainly because WS2/GNSs composites have a higher Li+diffusion coefficient of 2.2 × 10–9cm2·s−1and a higher specific surface area of 70.10 m2·g−1. As a result, the xylitol-assisted ball milling method designed in this work is suitable for extended preparation of peeling of two-dimensional layer materials into nanosheets.

Artificial intelligence has made significant advances in the field of protein structure prediction in recent years. In particular, DeepMind’s end-to-end model, AlphaFold2, has demonstrated the capability to predict three-dimensional structures of numerous unknown proteins with accuracy levels comparable to those of experimental methods. This breakthrough has opened up new possibilities for understanding protein structure and function as well as accelerating drug discovery and other applications in the field of biology and medicine. Despite the remarkable achievements of artificial intelligence in the field, there are still some challenges and limitations. In this Review, we discuss the recent progress and some of the challenges in protein structure prediction. These challenges include predicting multidomain protein structures, protein complex structures, multiple conformational states of proteins, and protein folding pathways. Furthermore, we highlight directions in which further improvements can be conducted.

SummaryThe genus AcromantisSaussure, 1870 (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae: Acromantinae) includes 21 species globally, distributed in Eastern and Southern Asia, the Malay Archipelago and Northern Australia. Some Acromantisspecies were described based only on a single sex with a simple description, resulting in confusion and causing difficulties for taxonomic studies within the genus. Here, based on a numerous of specimens including those from type localities, we attempt to revise the taxonomy of the genus Acromantisin China and surrounding areas. Additional information on both sexes for known species are added. Eight new species, namely A. hainanan. sp., A. dianan. sp., A. acutan. sp., A. melanopteran. sp., A. zhiliangin. sp., A. jinchengin. sp., A. bifolian. sp.and A. nujiangensisn. sp.are described. Acromantis formosana(Shiraki, 1911) is transferred to OdontomantisSaussure, 1871. Life history, necessary illustrations and habitat images of Acromantisspecies in China and surrounding areas are presented; the distribution of the genus Acromantisin this area is discussed and mapped.

Cuticular waxes play important roles in plant development and the interaction between plants and their environment. Researches on wax biosynthetic pathways have been reported in several plant species. Also, wax formation is closely related to environmental condition. However, the regulatory mechanism between wax and environmental factors, especially essential mineral elements, is less studied. Here we found that nitrogen (N) played a negative role in the regulation of wax synthesis in apple. We therefore analysed wax content, composition and crystals in BTB-TAZ domain protein 2(MdBT2) overexpressing and antisense transgenic apple seedlings and found that MdBT2 could downregulate wax biosynthesis. Furthermore, R2R3-MYB transcription factor 16-like protein (MdMYB106) interacted with MdBT2, and MdBT2 mediated its ubiquitination and degradation through the 26S proteasome pathway. Finally, HXXXD-type acyl-transferase ECERIFERUM 2-like1(MdCER2L1) was confirmed as a downstream target gene of MdMYB106. Our findings reveal an N-mediated apple wax biosynthesis pathway and lay a foundation for further study of the environmental factors associated with wax regulatory networks in apple.

Under appropriate culture conditions, plant cells can regenerate new organs or even whole plants. De novoorgan regeneration is an excellent biological system, which usually requires additional growth regulators, including auxin and cytokinin. Nitrate is an essential nutrient element for plant vegetative and reproductive development. It has been reported that nitrate is involved in auxin biosynthesis and transport throughout the growth and development of plants. In this study, we demonstrated that the ectopic expression of the MdNLP7transcription factor in Arabidopsiscould regulate the regeneration of root explants. MdNLP7mainly participated in the regulation of callus formation, starting with pericycle cell division, and mainly affected auxin distribution and accumulation in the regulation process. Moreover, MdNLP7upregulated the expression of genes related to auxin biosynthesis and transport in the callus formation stage. The results demonstrated that MdNLP7may play a role in the nitrate-modulated regeneration of root explants. Moreover, the results revealed that nitrate–auxin crosstalk is required for de novocallus initiation and clarified the mechanisms of organogenesis.

Supramolecular electronics bridges the gap between single-molecule electronics and bulk, plastic electronics, and is embodied as one of the biggest promises of nanometer electronics made by supramolecular functional materials. Within this field, the way in which electrons propagate through the supramolecule plays a profound role both in designing supramolecular devices and in understanding the structure–property relationships at the molecular level. Herein, we consider a supramolecular transistor, which contains bipartite molecular monomers, with one molecular orbital is non-interacting, whereas the other one is strongly correlated. Modeling this device using the two-impurity Anderson model, we unravel the orbital selections and the virtual states in the electronic transport process with the aid of the celebrated numerical renormalization group method. We demonstrate that if both orbitals are in their particle–hole symmetric regimes, electrons favor to transmit through the non-interacting molecular orbital via the resonant tunneling process, rather than through the strongly correlated molecular orbital via the Kondo effect, despite the energy of the strongly correlated orbital is lower. This phenomenon indicates that if the Kondo effect occurs, it experiences a temporarily doubly occupied virtual state. Interestingly, the situation reverses if the inter-molecule hopping integral is applied, where the strongly correlated orbital becomes optimal and the virtual state turns to be an empty state. To understand these behaviors, both the static and the dynamical properties, as well as those thermodynamic quantities are studied in detail, and necessary physical arguments are given. Our findings afford deep insights into the manipulations of the optimal transport orbital and the Kondo behaviors within quantum impurity devices.

The substituted benzene derivatives are essential to organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and material science. However, the 1,3-di- and 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzenes are far less prevalent in small-molecule drugs than other substitution patterns, likely due to the lack of robust, efficient, and convenient synthetic methods. Here, we report a Mo-catalyzed intermolecular deoxygenative benzene-forming reaction of readily available ynones and allylic amines. A wide range of unsymmetric and unfunctionalized 1,3-di- and 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzenes were obtained in up to 88% yield by using a commercially available molybdenum catalyst. The synthetic potential of the method was further illustrated by synthetic transformations, a scale-up synthesis, and derivatization of bioactive molecules. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that this benzene-forming process might proceed through a Mo-catalyzed aza-Michael addition/[1,5]-hydride shift/cyclization/aromatization cascade. This strategy not only provided a facile, robust, and modular approach to various meta-substituted benzene derivatives but also demonstrated the potential of molybdenum catalysis in the challenging intermolecular deoxygenative cross-coupling reactions.

The oldest fossils assigned to Athyrium(mostly based on the sorus morphology) comprise fronds and spores from the Lower Cretaceous of Northeast Asia. However, most molecular dating suggests that extant Athyriumdiverged from its sister genus during the Eocene or later, implying that the Cretaceous fossils probably belong to another polypodiaceous taxon. By examining the sorus morphology of extant genera related to the family Athyriaceae, we found that the primary diagnostic feature for assigning the Cretaceous fossils to Athyrium, i.e., the sorus shape, is common to the entire extant family, or plesiomorphic for the genus. As the fronds are more commonly preserved than the reproductive parts, we compared the fossil frond morphology with those of living taxa of the family that is divided into two types. The Cretaceous fossil we examined here bears the frond’s costal groove characters on adaxial side, which is more closely related to that of the Deparia-clade instead of the clade including Athyriumand other genera of the family. The observation is further confirmed by the cladistic analysis using morphological characters. The systematic position of the Early Cretaceous “Athyrium” was resolved as a stem member of the total Athyriaceae using a tip-dating approach with the Fossilized Birth-Death model in a Bayesian framework. Our study suggests that Early Cretaceous fossils previously assigned to Athyriumrequire taxonomic revision.

The catalytic asymmetric cyclopropanation reaction of alkenes with diazo compounds is a direct and powerful method to construct chiral cyclopropanes that are essential to drug discovery. However, diazo compounds are potentially explosive and often require hazardous reagents for their preparation. Here, we report on the use of 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds as safe and readily available surrogates for diazo compounds in the direct catalytic asymmetric deoxygenative cyclopropanation reaction. Enabled by a class of simple and readily accessible chiral salen-Mo catalysts, the reaction proceeded with generally good enantioselectivities and yields toward a wide range of substrates (80 examples). Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that the proposed μ-oxo bridged dinuclear Mo(III)-species was the catalytically active species. This strategy not only provides a promising route for the synthesis of chiral cyclopropanes but also opens a new window for the potential applications of chiral salen-Mo complexes in asymmetric catalysis.

Hot extrusion was performed on as-cast Mg−3Zn−1Y−1Mn alloy to further improve the mechanical properties and investigate its microstructure evolution and deformation mechanism at different thermal deformation temperatures. The experimental results suggested that the alloy at the extrusion temperature of 330 °C had the optimal mechanical properties, and the tensile strength and elongation of the alloy were 270 MPa and 16.8%, respectively. The strength improvement of the as-extruded alloy primarily arose from three aspects, including fine-grain strengthening due to dynamic re-crystallization (DRX), dislocation strengthening not offset by DRX, and second phase strengthening. Continuous dynamic re-crystallization (CDRX) and dynamic recovery (DRV) occurred simultaneously at the extrusion temperature of 300 °C. The discontinuous dynamic re-crystallization (DDRX) occurred at the extrusion temperature of 330 and 360 °C. However, the contribution of {0001} basal plane slip, {1010} prismatic type I and {1120} prismatic type II slips to plastic deformation was significantly affected by the extrusion temperature. The {1120} prismatic type II slip was found to be the most difficult one to initiate among the three slip systems.

A preparation process of high performance 5083 aluminum alloy sheet was proposed. The process is severe plastic deformation process of alternate ring-groove pressing and torsion based on cyclic stress state under warm conditions. The results show that when the temperature is 200 °C, the grain refinement effect after secondary deformation is the best, and the average grain size is refined from 24 to 12.5 μm. When the temperature is 300 °C, the mechanical properties of the sheet after one deformation are the best. Compared with those of the original sheet, the tensile strength (397 MPa) and breaking elongation (28.3%) are increased by 30% and 60%, respectively. The second phase particles and recrystallized grains improve the strength of the material by second phase strengthening and fine grain strengthening. The equiaxed recrystallized grains improve the plasticity and toughness of the material.

SummaryThe genus AnaxarchaStål, 1877 (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae: Hymenopodinae), distributed in SE Asia, included 11 species globally, of which seven had been recorded in China. After examining numerous specimens of Anaxarcha, we provide a systematic review of the genus Anaxarchain China. We propose that the genus Anaxarchashould be divided into two species groups, and describe five new species: A. unicolorn. sp., A. robustan. sp., A. caiwenaeWu, n. sp., A. zhuyuaeWu, n. sp.and A. multipunctatan. sp.Anaxarcha atrispinaYang, 1999 is proposed as a junior synonym of A. tianmushanensisZheng, 1985. Anaxarcha zhengiRen & Wang, 1994 and A. maculataMao & Yang, 2002 are transferred to the genus Odontomantis, as O. zhengi(Ren & Wang, 1994) n. comb.and O. maculata(Mao & Yang, 2002) n. comb.A key to the species of Anaxarchain China, life history, necessary illustrations and life images of Anaxarchaspecies are presented. The distribution of the genus Anaxarchais discussed and mapped.

Domain boundary prediction is one of the most important problems in the study of protein structure and function, especially for large proteins. At present, most domain boundary prediction methods have low accuracy and limitations in dealing with multi-domain proteins. In this study, we develop a sequence-based protein domain boundary prediction, named DomBpred. In DomBpred, the input sequence is first classified as either a single-domain protein or a multi-domain protein through a designed effective sequence metric based on a constructed single-domain sequence library. For the multi-domain protein, a domain-residue clustering algorithm inspired by Ising model is proposed to cluster the spatially close residues according inter-residue distance. The unclassified residues and the residues at the edge of the cluster are then tuned by the secondary structure to form potential cut points. Finally, a domain boundary scoring function is proposed to recursively evaluate the potential cut points to generate the domain boundary. DomBpred is tested on a large-scale test set of FUpred comprising 2549 proteins. Experimental results show that DomBpred better performs than the state-of-the-art methods in classifying whether protein sequences are composed by single or multiple domains, and the Matthew's correlation coefficient is 0.882. Moreover, on 849 multi-domain proteins, the domain boundary distance and normalised domain overlap scores of DomBpred are 0.523 and 0.824, respectively, which are 5.0% and 4.2% higher than those of the best comparison method, respectively. Comparison with other methods on the given test set shows that DomBpred outperforms most state-of-the-art sequence-based methods and even achieves better results than the top-level template-based method. The executable program is freely available at https://github.com/iobio-zjut/DomBpred and the online server at http://zhanglab-bioinf.com/DomBpred/.

Automated coronary CT–derived fractional flow reserve was associated with reduced 90-day invasive coronary angiography rate without an increase in major adverse cardiac events up to 1 year.

The high prevalence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases in China’s large population has increased the use of cardiovascular imaging for the assessment of conditions in recent years. In this study, we review the past 20 years of cardiovascular imaging in China, the increasingly important role played by cardiovascular computed tomography in coronary artery disease and pulmonary embolism assessment, magnetic resonance imaging’s use for cardiomyopathy assessment, the development and application of artificial intelligence in cardiovascular imaging, and the future of Chinese cardiovascular imaging.

Auxin response factors (ARFs) play key roles throughout the whole process of plant growth and development, and mediate auxin response gene transcription by directly binding with auxin response elements (AuxREs). However, their functions in abiotic stresses are largely limited, especially in apples. Here, the auxin response factor gene MdARF2(HF41569) was cloned from apple cultivar ‘Royal Gala’ (Malus×domesticaBorkh.). Phylogenetic analysis showed that ARF2 proteins are highly conserved among different species and MdARF2 is the closest relative to PpARF2 of Prunus persica, but they differ at the DNA level. MdARF2 contains three typical conserved domains including the B3 DNA-binding domain, Auxin_resp domain and AUX_IAA domain. The subcellular localization demonstrated that MdARF2 is localized in the nucleus. The three-dimensional structure prediction of the proteins showed that MdARF2 is highly similar with AtARF2, and they contain helices, folds, and random coils. The promoter of MdARF2contains cis-acting elements which respond to various stresses, as well as environmental and hormonal signals. Expression analysis showed that MdARF2is widely expressed in all tissues of apple, with the highest expression of MdARF2in root. Functional analysis with a series of MdARF2transgenic apple calli indicated that MdARF2can reduce the sensitivity to ABA signaling and enhance salt tolerance in apple. In summary, the results of this research provide a new basis for studying the regulation of abiotic stresses by ARFs.

SummaryThe genus CatestiasulaGiglio-Tos, 1915, with three species, is distributed in SE Asia. After examining numerous specimens of Catestiasula, we redefine C. seminigra(Zhang) and try to clarify the identification characteristics of different species. Ootheca and nymph morphology of Catestiasulais recorded for the first time. A new species, Catestiasula medogensisn. sp., is described from the rainforests of the southern slopes of the Himalayas. A key to species of Catestiasula, life history, necessary illustrations and life images of Catestiasulaspecies are presented. The distribution of the genus Catestiasulais discussed and mapped.

Many integral membrane proteins might act as indispensable coordinators in specific functional microdomains to maintain the normal operation of known receptors, such as Notch. Gm364 is a multi-pass transmembrane protein that has been screened as a potential female fertility factor. However, there have been no reports to date about its function in female fertility. Here, we found that global knockout of Gm364decreased the numbers of primordial follicles and growing follicles, impaired oocyte quality as indicated by increased ROS and γ-H2AX, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, decreased oocyte maturation, and increased aneuploidy. Mechanistically, Gm364 directly binds and anchors MIB2, a ubiquitin ligase, on the membrane. Subsequently, membrane MIB2 ubiquitinates and activates DLL3. Next, the activated DLL3 binds and activates Notch2, which is subsequently cleaved within the cytoplasm to produce NICD2, the intracellular active domain of Notch2. Finally, NICD2 can directly activate AKT within the cytoplasm to regulate oocyte meiosis and quality.

SummaryThe genus PhyllothelysWood-Mason (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae: Phyllothelyinae) includes 18 species in the world, among which 12 species were recorded in China. However, most Phyllothelysspecies have been described only for a single sex, and previous taxonomic characters are mainly based on the vertex prolongation of head, which leads to taxonomic confusion within the genus. Here, after raising and observing large amounts of males and females Phyllothelys, collected in the same localities, we find that several species which were described based on a single male or female are conspecific, and that there are significant differences between the males and females for some species. Then, we propose other stable taxonomic characters within species and provide for the first time a systematic review of the Phyllothelysspecies in China. We propose that PhyllothelysWood-Mason should be divided into four species groups. Seven new species, P. cancongin. sp., P. tianfuensen. sp., P. tengchongensen. sp., P. xiezhin. sp., P. jiazhiin. sp., P. dulongensen. sp. and P. chuangtsein. sp., are described. Phyllothelys hepaticum(Zhang) and P. wuyiense(Yang & Wang) are proposed as synonyms of P. werneriKarny. Phyllothelys robustum(Niu & Liu) is transferred to P. sinense robustum(Niu & Liu) n. stat. Life history, necessary illustrations and ecological images of Phyllothelysspecies from China are presented. The distribution of the genus Phyllothelysspecies is discussed and mapped.

The supramolecular interaction network between light-emitting conjugated polymer (LCP) chains provides an excellent electronic landscape and optical cavity to stabilize the excited state and enhance emission efficiency for the fabrication of an organic laser. Herein, we originally demonstrated an exceptional deep-blue lasing from uniformly packed nanowires in a robust emissive spherulite of deep-blue LCPs with a flexible oligoether. The supramolecular interactions between flexible side-oligoethers enable polymer chains to self-assemble into crystalline nanowires and attach into a long-range ordered hierarchical structure. Intriguingly, this novel LCP spherulite exhibits an ultrastable and crystalline-enhanced emission, which is enhanced by about 42% over the emission efficiency of pristine spin-coated films. This robust deep-blue emission with an excellent spectral stability is mainly attributed to the suppression of physical defect formation and enhancement of exciton diffusion in these uniformly packed nanowires. More importantly, such a long-range ordered hierarchical structure also provided an excellent optical cavity to realize exciton population inversion for low-threshold (4.22 μJ/cm2) deep-blue lasing behavior. The study indicates that improvement of emission efficiency and stability in a deep-blue conjugated polymer can be achieved in a synergistic way for fabricating a hierarchically ordered superstructure, which will accelerate the future development and application of light-emitting optoelectronic devices.

ABSTRACTAuxin response factors (ARFs) mediate auxin response gene transcription by directly binding with AuxREs. However, whether ARF family genes involved in anthocyanin accumulation in apple is largely unexplored. In this study, thirty-three MdARF family members were identified in the apple (Malus × domestica) genome (HFTH1 Whole Genome v1.0) based on the sequence similarity with ARF family members of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that thirty-three MdARF members were clustered into Class I, Class II and Class III. Functional domain analysis showed that MdARF proteins have some typical domains such as B3-like DNA-binding domain and Auxin_resp domain, as well as motif III and motif IV. Chromosome localisation analysis demonstrated that apple ARF members were widely distributed in the genome. Among these MdARFgenes, MdARF2was significantly correlated with anthocyanin variation according to extracting expression profiles from published RNA-seq data. Further functional identification in apple calli suggested that MdARF2 functions as a transcriptional repressor of anthocyanin biosynthesis. These findings provide evidence that MdARF family members play a role in the regulation of anthocyanin accumulation in apple.

Neutrophils are quickly recruited to tissues in response to proinflammatory cues; however, little is known about tissue neutrophil phenotypes in health. We employ a multicolor flow cytometric approach to assess surface markers of activation on neutrophils from the bone marrow, blood, peritoneum, spleen, liver, fat, colon, and oral cavity of healthy mice. Cell preparations were promptly fixed to preserve native surface marker expression levels. Peritoneal, colonic, and oral neutrophils were also assessed in the setting of pHrodo‐induced peritonitis, dextran sodium sulfate‐induced colitis, and ligature‐induced periodontal disease, respectively. Our results demonstrate consistent detectable neutrophil populations in various sterile and nonsterile tissues of healthy mice, and these cells had tissue‐specific neutrophil immunophenotypes. Neutrophils derived from biofilm‐associated mucosal tissues had 2‐ to 3‐fold higher expression of surface markers of activation, including CD66a, CD11b, and CD62L, compared to neutrophils derived from both sterile healthy tissues as well as tissues in animals treated with broad‐spectrum antibiotics. Furthermore, the unique cluster of differentiation (CD) marker activation signatures of tissue‐specific neutrophils from the peritoneum, colon, and oral cavity were altered to a proinflammatory immunophenotype with the presence of an inflammatory stimulus. Based on our results, we propose a model whereby a hierarchy of tissue neutrophil immunophenotypes, based on the differential expression of CD markers of activation, correlates with sterile, healthy commensal biofilm‐associated and inflamed tissue states. Tissue neutrophils can be isolated and possess unique compartment‐specific cluster of differentiation marker expression in health and disease

BTB and TAZ domain proteins (BTs) function as specialized adaptors facilitating substrate recognition of the CUL3–RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL3) complex that targets proteins for ubiquitination in reaction to diverse pressures. Nonetheless, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms by which the apple scaffold protein MdBT2 responds to external and internal signals is limited. Here we demonstrate that a putative Ca 2+sensor, calmodulin-like 15 (MdCML15), acts as an upstream regulator of MdBT2 to negatively modulate its functions in plasma membrane H+-ATPase regulation and iron deficiency tolerance. MdCML15 was identified to be substantially linked to MdBT2, and to result in the ubiquitination and degradation of the MdBT2 target protein MdbHLH104. Consequently, MdCML15 repressed the MdbHLH104 target, MdAHA8’s expression, reducing levels of a specific membrane H+-ATPase. Finally, the phenotype of transgenic apple plantlets and calli demonstrated that MdCML15 modulates membrane H+-ATPase-produced rhizosphere pH lowering alongside iron homeostasis through an MdCML15–MdBT2–MdbHLH104–MdAHA8 pathway. Our results provide new insights into the relationship between Ca2+signaling and iron homeostasis.

ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5) is a core regulatory factor that mediates the ABA signaling response and leaf senescence. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the synergistic regulation of leaf senescence by ABI5 with interacting partners and the homeostasis of ABI5 in the ABA signaling response remain to be further investigated. In this study, we found that the accelerated effect of MdABI5 on leaf senescence is partly dependent on MdbHLH93, an activator of leaf senescence in apple. MdABI5 directly interacted with MdbHLH93 and improved the transcriptional activation of the senescence-associated gene MdSAG18by MdbHLH93. MdPUB23, a U-box E3 ubiquitin ligase, physically interacted with MdABI5 and delayed ABA-triggered leaf senescence. Genetic and biochemical analyses suggest that MdPUB23 inhibited MdABI5-promoted leaf premature senescence by targeting MdABI5 for ubiquitin-dependent degradation. In conclusion, our results verify that MdABI5 accelerates leaf senescence through the MdABI5-MdbHLH93-MdSAG18regulatory module, and MdPUB23 is responsible for the dynamic regulation of ABA-triggered leaf senescence by modulating the homeostasis of MdABI5.

Herein, the catalytic properties and reaction mechanisms of the 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals embedded in 2D rectangular tetracyanoquinodimethane (TM-rTCNQ) monolayers as single-atom catalysts (SACs) for the electrocatalytic N2reduction reaction (NRR) were systematically investigated, using first-principles calculations. A series of high-throughput screenings were carried out on 30 TM-rTCNQ monolayers, and all possible NRR pathways were explored. Three TM-rTCNQ (TM = Mo, Tc, and W) SACs were selected as promising new NRR catalyst candidates because of their high structural stability and good catalytic performance (low onset potential and high selectivity). Our results show that the Mo-rTCNQ monolayer can catalyze NRR through a distal mechanism with an onset potential of −0.48 V. Surprisingly, the NH3desorption energy on the Mo-rTCNQ monolayer is only 0.29 eV, the lowest one reported in the literature so far, which makes the Mo-rTCNQ monolayer a good NRR catalyst candidate. In-depth research studies on the structures of N2–TM-rTCNQ (TM = Mo, Tc, and W) found that strong adsorption and activation performance of TM-rTCNQ for N2may be due to the strong charge transfer and orbital hybridization between the TM-rTCNQ catalyst and the N2molecules. Our work provides new ideas for achieving N2fixation under environmental conditions.

MYB transcription factors (TFs) participate in many biological processes. However, the molecular mechanisms by which MYB TFs affect plant resistance to apple ring rot remain poorly understood. Here, the R2R3-MYB gene MdMYB73was cloned from “Royal Gala” apples and functionally characterized as a positive regulator of the defense response to Botryosphaeria dothidea. qRT-PCR and GUS staining demonstrated that MdMYB73was strongly induced in apple fruits and transgenic calli after inoculation with B. dothidea. MdMYB73overexpression improved resistance to B. dothideain apple calli and fruits, while MdMYB73suppression weakened. Increased resistance to B. dothideawas also observed in MdMYB73-expressing Arabidopsis thaliana. Interestingly, salicylic acid (SA) contents and the expression levels of genes related with SA synthesis and signaling were greater in MdMYB73-overexpressing plant materials compared to wild-type controls after inoculation, suggesting that MdMYB73 might enhance resistance to B. dothideaviathe SA pathway. Finally, we discovered that MdMYB73 interacts with MdWRKY31, a positive regulator of B. dothidea. Together, MdWRKY31 and MdMYB73 enhanced B. dothidearesistance in apples. Our results clarify the mechanisms by which MdMYB73 improves resistance to B. dothideaand suggest that resistance may be affected by regulating the SA pathway.

We have identified three novel metal phthalocyanine (MPc, M = Mo, Re, and Tc) single-atom catalyst candidates with excellent predicted performance for the production of ammonia from electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) through a combination of high-throughput screening and first-principles calculations on a series of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals anchored onto extended Pc monolayer catalysts. Analysis of the energy band structures and projected density of states of N2-MPc revealed significant orbital hybridization and charge transfer between the adsorbed N2and catalyst MPc, which accounts for the high catalytic activity. Among 30 MPc catalysts, MoPc and TcPc monolayers were found to be the most promising new NRR catalysts, as they exhibit excellent stability, low onset potential, and high selectivity. A comprehensive reaction pathway search found that the maximum free energy changes for the MoPc and TcPc monolayers are 0.33 and 0.54 eV, respectively. As a distinctive nature of this work, the hybrid reaction pathway was considered extensively and searched systematically. The onset potential of the hybrid pathway is found to be smaller than or comparable to that of the commonly known pure pathway. Thus, the hybrid path is highly competitive with low onset potential and high activity. The hybrid pathway is expected to have an important impact on future research on the mechanism of NRR, and it will open up a new way to explore the mechanism of the NRR reaction. We hope that our work will provide impetus to the creation of new catalysts for reduction of N2to NH3. This work provides new insights into the rational design of NRR catalysts and explores novel reaction pathways under ambient or mild conditions.

Microorganisms can effectively heal the cracks of cementitious materials through the formation of calcium carbonate by microbial mineralization deposition, which has a wide application prospect in cementitious materials. In order to analysis the activity change and distribution of microorganisms in cementitious materials, this paper prepared cement pastes incorporated microbial powder, and extracted microorganisms by pre-crushing, grinding and ultrasonic, at the age of 3, 7 and 28 days respectively. The relationship between the optical density and effector cells is near linear fit, reflecting the activity change and specific distribution of microorganisms in cement paste specimen of different ages. The in-depth research on the activity change and distribution of microorganisms in the microbial cementitious materials can effectively characterize the microorganisms in the cementitious materials, which has a guiding role in microbial self-healing cementitious materials.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that inhabit diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments. However, the evolutionary mechanisms involved in the cyanobacterial habitat adaptation remain poorly understood. Here, based on phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses of 650 cyanobacterial genomes, we investigated the genetic basis of cyanobacterial habitat adaptation (marine, freshwater, and terrestrial). We show: (1) the expansion of gene families is a common strategy whereby terrestrial cyanobacteria cope with fluctuating environments, whereas the genomes of many marine strains have undergone contraction to adapt to nutrient-poor conditions. (2) Hundreds of genes are strongly associated with specific habitats. Genes that are differentially abundant in genomes of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial cyanobacteria were found to be involved in light sensing and absorption, chemotaxis, nutrient transporters, responses to osmotic stress, etc., indicating the importance of these genes in the survival and adaptation of organisms in specific habitats. (3) A substantial fraction of genes that facilitate the adaptation of Cyanobacteria to specific habitats are contributed by horizontal gene transfer, and such genetic exchanges are more frequent in terrestrial cyanobacteria. Collectively, our results further our understandings of the adaptations of Cyanobacteria to different environments, highlighting the importance of ecological constraints imposed by the environment in shaping the evolution of Cyanobacteria.