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Abstract In recent years, under the background of exam-oriented physical education reform, the government has issued a lot of physical education documents and policies. As a result, many schools have made fundamental changes in physical education activities. These policies are mainly aimed at getting young people to be more active and autonomous in school sports. This requires physical education training teachers must adhere to the people-oriented, student-oriented, so as to highlight the subject status of students. Based on this, students should establish a good sports values and ethics and form a good habit of lifelong sports, so as to further promote the sustainable development of youth sports activities. Based on the ecological theory of sustainable development as the background, this study constructs a unified theory of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model for the sustainable training and development of youth skating sports training institutions. This study selects the youth skating sports training institutions in Beijing, China as the investigation object, covering small, medium and large institutions of different sizes, and analyzes based on the statistical data in 2023 and the results of field research. The results show that the application of this model not only increases the willingness of youth skating training institutions to continue to participate by 3.66%, but also promotes the diversified development of youth skating training. In addition, this study also discusses the environmental protection measures implemented in the process of skating training to ensure that the training activities are sustainable while reducing the impact on the environment, so as to build a sustainable development of the new ecology of skating sports training.

Abstract Knowledge of sex determination has important implications in physiology, ecology and genetics, but the evolutionary mechanisms of sex determination systems in turtles have not been fully elucidated, due to a lack of reference genomes. Here, we generate a high-quality genome assembly of Asian yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica) using continuous long-read (PacBio platform), Illumina, and high-throughput chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) technologies. The M. mutica haplotype has a genome size of 2.23 Gb with a contig N50 of 8.53 Mb and scaffold N50 of 141.98 Mb. 99.98% sequences of the total assembly are anchored to 26 pseudochromosomes. Comparative genomics analysis indicated that the lizard-snake-tuatara clade diverged from the bird-crocodilian-turtle clade at approximately 267.0–312.3 Mya. Intriguingly, positive selected genes are mostly enriched in the calcium signaling pathway and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, which are involved in the process of temperature-dependent sex determination. These findings provide important evolutionary insights into temperature-dependent sex determination system.

Abstract Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a type of circular and tumor specific genetic element. EcDNA has been reported to display open chromatin structure, facilitate oncogene amplification and genetic material unequal segregation, and is associated with poor cancer patients’ prognosis. The ability of immune evasion is a typical feature for cancer progression, however the tumor intrinsic factors that determine immune evasion remain poorly understood. Here we show that the presence of ecDNA is associated with markers of tumor immune evasion, and obtaining ecDNA could be one of the mechanisms employed by tumor cells to escape immune surveillance. Tumors with ecDNA usually have comparable TMB and neoantigen load, however they have lower immune cell infiltration and lower cytotoxic T cell activity. The microenvironment of tumors with ecDNA shows increased immune-depleted, decreased immune-enriched fibrotic types. Both MHC class I and class II antigen presentation genes’ expression are decreased in tumors with ecDNA, and this could be the underlying mechanism for ecDNA associated immune evasion. This study provides evidence that ecDNA formation is an immune escape mechanism for cancer cells.

Abstract In contrast to the nearly error-free self-assembly of protein architectures in nature, artificial assembly of protein complexes with pre-defined structure and function in vitro is still challenging. To mimic nature’s strategy to construct pre-defined three-dimensional protein architectures, highly specific protein-protein interacting pairs are needed. Here we report an effort to create an orthogonally interacting protein pair from its parental pair using a bacteria-based in vivo directed evolution strategy. This high throughput approach features a combination of a negative and a positive selection. The newly developed negative selection from this work was used to remove any protein mutants that retain effective interaction with their parents. The positive selection was used to identify mutant pairs that can engage in effective mutual interaction. By using the cohesin-dockerin protein pair that is responsible for the self-assembly of cellulosome as a model system, we demonstrated that a protein pair that is orthogonal to its parent pair could be readily generated using our strategy. This approach could open new avenues to a wide range of protein-based assembly, such as biocatalysis or nanomaterials, with pre-determined architecture and potentially novel functions and properties.

To evaluate the repeatability of a novel automated technique called Smart ERA (Smart Endometrial Receptivity Analysis) for the automated segmentation and volume calculation of the endometrium in patients with normal uteri,, and to compare the agreement of endometrial volume measurements between Smart ERA, the semi-automated Virtual Organ Computer-aided Analysis (VOCAL) technique and manual segmentation. This retrospective study evaluated endometrial volume measurement in infertile patients who underwent frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET). Transvaginal three-dimensional ultrasound scans were performed using a Resona R9 ultrasound machine. Data was collected from patients between 2021 and 2022. Patients with normal uteri and optimal ultrasound images were included. Endometrial volumes were measured using Smart ERA, VOCAL at 15° rotation, and manual segmentation. Intra-observer repeatability and agreement between techniques were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. A total of 407 female patients were evaluated (mean age 33.2 ± 4.7 years). The repeatability of Smart ERA showed an ICC of 0.983 (95% CI 0.984-0.991). The agreement between Smart ERA and the manual method, Smart ERA and VOCAL, and VOCAL and the manual method, as assessed by ICC, were 0.986 (95% CI 0.977-0.990), 0.943 (95% CI 0.934-0.963), and 0.951 (95% CI 0.918-0.969), respectively. The Smart ERA technique required approximately 3 s for endometrial volume calculation, while VOCAL took around 5 min and the manual segmentation method took approximately 50 min. The Smart-ERA software, which employs a novel three-dimensional segmentation algorithm, demonstrated excellent intra-observer repeatability and high agreement with both VOCAL and manual segmentation for endometrial volume measurement in women with normal uteri. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution, as the algorithm's performance may not be generalizable to populations with different uterine characteristic. Additionally, Smart ERA required significantly less time compared to VOCAL and manual segmentation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Retinoblastoma is one of the most common ocular malignancies in children. Bmi-1, a member of the Polycomb group family of transcriptional repressors, is expressed in a variety of tumors. The purpose of our study was to explore the role of Bmi-1 in retinoblastoma. RT-qPCR and western blot were used for calculating the mRNA and protein levels of Bmi-1 and RKIP. MTT, Wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to measure the proliferation, migration and invasion in retinoblastoma cells. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The volume and mass of transplanted tumors were detected in nude mice. Bmi-1 was over expressed, and RKIP was low expressed in retinoblastoma cells. Bmi-1 promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion and suppressed cell apoptosis of Y79 and SO-RB50 cells. Downregulation of Bmi-1 and overexpression of RKIP inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and increased cell apoptosis. The functions of Bmi-1 knockdown on retinoblastoma cells were blocked by RKIP knockdown, but promoted by RKIP. Down-regulated Bmi-1 inhibited xenograft tumor growth, and RKIP exacerbated this inhibitory effect. Bmi-1 served as a potential therapeutic target for improving the efficacy of clinical treatment in retinoblastoma. All the findings revealed the functions of Bmi-1/RKIP axis in retinoblastoma tumorigenesis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Rapid urbanization has resulted in the substantial population growth in metropolitan areas. However, existing research on population change of the cities predominantly draws on grid statistical data at the administrative level, overlooking the intra-urban variegation of population change. Particularly, there is a lack of attention given to the spatio-temporal change of population across different urban forms and functions. This paper therefore fills in the lacuna by clarifying the spatio-temporal characteristics of population growth in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) from 2000 to 2020 through the methods of local climate zone (LCZ) scheme and urban-rural gradients. The results showed that: (1) High population density was observed in the compact high-rise (LCZ 1) areas, with a noticeable decline along urban-rural gradients. (2) The city centers of GBA experienced the most significant population growth, while certain urban fringes and rural areas witnessed significant population shrinkage. (3) The rate of growth tended to slow down after 2010, but the uneven development of population-based urbanization was also noticeable, as urbanization and industrialization varied across different LCZ types and cities in GBA. This paper therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of population change and urbanization by clarifying their spatio-temporal contingences at landscape level., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In this study, three generations of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays: (i) conventional PCR, (ii) qPCR and (iii) droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), were systematically tested for their abilities to detect non-pathogenic and pathogenic populations of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The limit of detection (LOD) for the ddPCR was 1.1 pg/µL of purified DNA, followed by the qPCR (5.6 pg/µL) and the conventional PCR (8.8 pg/µL). Regarding the LOD for V. parahaemolyticus cells, the ddPCR assay was able to detect 29 cells, followed by the conventional PCR assay (58 cells) and the qPCR assay (115 cells). Regarding the sensitivities to detect this pathogen from PCR inhibition prone samples (naturally contaminated mussels), the ddPCR assay significantly outperformed the conventional PCR and qPCR. The ddPCR assay was able to consistently detect non-pathogenic and pathogenic populations of V. parahaemolyticus from naturally contaminated mussels, indicating its tolerance to various PCR inhibitors. This study also revealed the significant difference between conventional PCR and qPCR. The conventional PCR assay showed significantly greater sensitivity than that of the qPCR assay in detecting V. parahaemolyticus in crude samples, whereas the qPCR assay showed better sensitivity in detecting the presence of V. parahaemolyticus in purified DNA samples., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute idiopathic polyneuropathy which is related to infection and immune mechanism. The exact pathogenesis of the disease is unknown and treatment is limited. Thus, the purpose of the study is to identify biomarkers of GBS serum and elucidate their involvement in the underlying pathogenesis of GBS that could help to treat GBS more accurately. Antibody array technology was used to detect the expression levels of 440 proteins in serum of 5 GBS group and 5 healthy control group. Sixty-seven differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by antibody array, among which FoLR1, Legumain, ErbB4, IL-1α, MIP-1α and IGF-2 were down-regulated, while 61 proteins were up-regulated. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that most DEPs were associated with leukocytes, among which IL-1α, SDF-1b, B7-1, CD40, CTLA4, IL-9, MIP-1α and CD40L were in the center of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Subsequently, the ability of these DEPs to distinguish GBS from healthy control was further evaluated. CD23 was identified by means of Random Forests Analysis (RFA) and verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ROC curve result of CD23 respectively displayed that its sensitivity, specificity and AUC were 0.818, 0.800 and 0.824. We speculate that activation of leukocyte proliferation and migration in circulating blood might be associated with inflammatory recruitment of peripheral nerves, leading to the occurrence and development of GBS, but this conclusion still requires deeper confirmation. More importantly, central proteins may play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of GBS. In addition, we detected IL-1α, IL-9, and CD23 in the serum of GBS patients for the first time, which may be promising biomarkers for the treatment of GBS., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The long-term use of chemical fertilizers to maintain agricultural production has had various harmful effects on farmland and has greatly impacted agriculture's sustainable expansion. Graphene, a unique and effective nanomaterial, is used in plant-soil applications to improve plant nutrient uptake, reduce chemical fertilizer pollution by relieving inadequate soil nutrient conditions and enhance soil absorption of nutrient components. We investigated the effects of graphene amendment on nutrient content, maize growth, and soil physicochemical parameters. In each treatment, 5 graphene concentration gradients (0, 25, 50, 100, and 150 g kg -1 ) were applied in 2 different types (single-layer and few-layers, SL and FL). Soil aggregates, soil accessible nutrients, soil enzyme activity, plant nutrients, plant height, stem diameter, dry weight, and fresh weight were all measured throughout the maize growth to the V3 stage. Compared to the control (0 g kg -1 ), we found that graphene increased the percentage of large agglomerates (0.25-10 mm) in the soil and significantly increased the geometric mean diameter (GMD) and mean weight diameter (MWD) values of > 0.25 mm water-stable agglomerates as the increase of concentration. Soil available nutrient content (AN, AP, and AK) increased, peaking at 150 g kg -1 . Graphene boosted nutrient absorption by maize plants, and aboveground total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and total potassium (TK) contents rose with the increasing application, which raised aboveground fresh weight, dry weight, plant height, and stalk thickness. The findings above confirmed our prediction that adding graphene to the soil may improve maize plant biomass by enhancing soil fertility and improving the soil environment. Given the higher manufacturing cost of single-layer graphene and the greater effect of few-layer graphene on soil and maize plants at the same concentration, single-layer graphene and few-layer graphene at a concentration of 50 g kg -1 were the optimal application rates., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The international pesticide trade network (iPTN) is a key factor affecting global food production and food security. The trade relationship is a key component in iPTNs. In a complex international trade environment, we model the impacts of uncertain factors such as trade wars, economic blockades and local wars, as removing vital relationships in the trade network. There are many complex network studies on node centrality, but few on link centrality or link importance. We propose a new method for computing network link centrality. The main innovation of the method is in converting the original network into a dual graph, the nodes in the dual graph corresponding to the links of the original network. Through the dual graph, the node centrality indicators can measure the centrality of the links in the original network. We verify the effectiveness of the network link centrality indicator based on the dual graph in the iPTN, analyze the relationship between the existing network link centrality indicators and the indicator proposed in this paper, and compare their differences. It is found that the trade relationships with larger indicators (hub, outcloseness, outdegree) based on the dual graph have a greater impact on network efficiency than those based on the original pesticide trade networks., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Leaf area index (LAI) is a fundamental indicator of crop growth status, timely and non-destructive estimation of LAI is of significant importance for precision agriculture. In this study, a multi-rotor UAV platform equipped with CMOS image sensors was used to capture maize canopy information, simultaneously, a total of 264 ground-measured LAI data were collected during a 2-year field experiment. Linear regression (LR), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and random forest (RF) algorithms were used to establish LAI estimation models, and their performances were evaluated through 500 repetitions of random sub-sampling, training, and testing. The results showed that RGB-based VIs derived from UAV digital images were strongly related to LAI, and the grain-filling stage (GS) of maize was identified as the optimal period for LAI estimation. The RF model performed best at both whole period and individual growth stages, with the highest R 2 (0.71-0.88) and the lowest RMSE (0.12-0.25) on test datasets, followed by the BPNN model and LR models. In addition, a smaller 5-95% interval range of R 2 and RMSE was observed in the RF model, which indicated that the RF model has good generalization ability and is able to produce reliable estimation results., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat (LRR)-containing family protein 3 (NLRP3) regulated the maturation of inflammation-related cytokines by forming NLRP3 inflammasome, which plays pivotal roles in sepsis pathogenesis. In this study, we evaluated the genetic association of NLRP3 polymorphisms with sepsis (640 patients and 769 controls) and characterized the impact of NLRP3 polymorphisms on NLRP3 expression and inflammatory responses. No significant differences were observed in genotype/allelic frequencies of NLRP3 29940G>C between sepsis cases and controls. The G allele was significantly overrepresented in patients with septic shock than those in sepsis subgroup, and the GC/GG genetypes were related to the 28-day mortality of sepsis. Lipopolysaccharide challenge to peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed a significant suppression of NLRP3 mRNA expression and release of IL-1β and TNF-α in CC compared with the GC/GG genotype category. Functional experiments with luciferase reporter vectors containing the NLRP3 3'-UTR with the 29940 G-to-C variation in HUVECs and THP-1 cells showed a potential suppressive effect of miR-146a on NLRP3 transcription in the presence of the C allele. Taken together, these results demonstrated that the 29940 G-to-C mutation within the NLRP3 3'-UTR was a gain-of-function alteration that caused the suppression of NLRP3 expression and downstream inflammatory cytokine production via binding with miR-146a, which ultimately protected patients against susceptibility to sepsis progression and poor clinical outcome.

Growing evidence indicated that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene are related to increase the risk of many inflammatory-related diseases. However, few genetic studies have associated the APOE gene polymorphism with sepsis. This study was to investigate the clinical relevance of the APOE gene polymorphism in the onset and progression of sepsis. A multicenter case-control association study with a large sample size (601 septic patients and 699 healthy individuals) was conducted. Clinical data showed that the APOEε4 allele was overrepresented among all patients with septic shock (p = 0.031) compared with sepsis subtype, suggesting that APOEε4 allele may associated with increased susceptibility to the progression of sepsis. Moreover, the APOE mRNA levels decreased after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in cells in culture. Then 21 healthy individuals to extract PBMC for genotype grouping (APOE4+ group 8; APOE4- group 13) was selected to evaluate the effect on APOE level, and results showed that the expression level of APOE in APOE4+ group and APOE4- group did not differ in mRNA levels after an LPS challenge, but the protein levels in APOE4+ group decreased slower than that in APOE4- group, and this process was accompanied by the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines. These results provide evidence that the APOEε4 allele might be associated with the development of sepsis and a potential risk factor that can be used in the prognosis of sepsis.

Branching processes are used to model diverse social and physical scenarios, from extinction of family names to nuclear fission. However, for a better description of natural phenomena, such as viral epidemics in cellular tissues, animal populations and social networks, a spatial embedding-the branching random walk (BRW)-is required. Despite its wide range of applications, the properties of the volume explored by the BRW so far remained elusive, with exact results limited to one dimension. Here we present analytical results, supported by numerical simulations, on the scaling of the volume explored by a BRW in the critical regime, the onset of epidemics, in general environments. Our results characterise the spreading dynamics on regular lattices and general graphs, such as fractals, random trees and scale-free networks, revealing the direct relation between the graphs' dimensionality and the rate of propagation of the viral process. Furthermore, we use the BRW to determine the spectral properties of real social and metabolic networks, where we observe that a lack of information of the network structure can lead to differences in the observed behaviour of the spreading process. Our results provide observables of broad interest for the characterisation of real world lattices, tissues, and networks.

Plant-associated microbiomes profoundly influence host interactions with below- and aboveground environments. Characterizing plant-associated microbiomes in experimental settings have revealed important drivers of microbiota assemblies within host species. However, it remains unclear how important these individual drivers (e.g., organ type, host species, host sexual phenotype) are in structuring the patterns of plant-microbiota association in the wild. Using 16s rRNA sequencing, we characterized root, leaf and flower microbiomes in three closely related, sexually polymorphic Fragaria species, in the broadly sympatric portion of their native ranges in Oregon, USA. Taking into account the potential influence of broad-scale abiotic environments, we found that organ type explained the largest variation of compositional and phylogenetic α- and β-diversity of bacterial communities in these wild populations, and its overall effect exceeded that of host species and host sex. Yet, the influence of host species increased from root to leaf to flower microbiomes. We detected strong sexual dimorphism in flower and leaf microbiomes, especially in host species with the most complete separation of sexes. Our results provide the first demonstration of enhanced influence of host species and sexual dimorphism from root to flower microbiomes, which may be applicable to many other plants in the wild.

This study investigated the effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on dynamical coordination of hand intrinsic muscles during precision grip. Precision grip was tested using a custom designed apparatus with stable and unstable loads, during which the surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and first dorsal interosseous (FDI) were recorded simultaneously. Recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) was applied to quantify the dynamical structure of sEMG signals of the APB and FDI; and cross recurrence quantification analysis (CRQA) was used to assess the intermuscular coupling between the two intrinsic muscles. This study revealed that the DM altered the dynamical structure of muscle activation for the FDI and the dynamical intermuscular coordination between the APB and FDI during precision grip. A reinforced feedforward mechanism that compensates the loss of sensory feedbacks in DM may be responsible for the stronger intermuscular coupling between the APB and FDI muscles. Sensory deficits in DM remarkably decreased the capacity of online motor adjustment based on sensory feedback, rendering a lower adaptability to the uncertainty of environment. This study shed light on inherent dynamical properties underlying the intrinsic muscle activation and intermuscular coordination for precision grip and the effects of DM on hand sensorimotor function.

New mosquito control strategies are vitally needed to address established arthropod-borne infectious diseases such as dengue and yellow fever and emerging diseases such as Zika and chikungunya, all of which are transmitted by the disease vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. In this investigation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) was engineered to produce short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) corresponding to the Aedes aegypti orthologs of fasciculation and elongation protein zeta 2 (fez2) and leukocyte receptor cluster (lrc) member, two genes identified in a recent screen for A. aegypti larval lethal genes. Feeding A. aegypti with the engineered yeasts resulted in silenced target gene expression, disrupted neural development, and highly significant larval mortality. Larvicidal activities were retained following heat inactivation and drying of the yeast into tabular formulations that induced >95% mortality and were found to attract adult females to oviposit. These ready-to-use inactivated yeast interfering RNA tablets may one day facilitate the seamless integration of this new class of lure-and-kill species-specific biorational mosquito larvicides into integrated mosquito control programs.

Few studies addressed trans-regional differences in allergen sensitization between areas within a similar latitudinal range but with distinct geomorphological features. We investigated specific IgE (sIgE) positivity to common allergens in populations from two southern China provinces. Using a uniformed protocol, serum samples were collected from 2778 subjects with suspected atopy in coastal Guangdong and inland Yunnan. The overall prevalence of sIgE positivity were 57.8% (95% CI: 56.0%, 59.6%) from Guangdong vs 60.9% (95% CI: 59.1%, 62.7%) from Yunnan. House dust mite (d1) was the most common allergen in both regions. Among d1-sensitized subjects, only 35.7% (208/583) in Guangdong and 22.9% (147/642) in Yunnan tested positive for d1 alone. Among those poly-sensitized d1-positive subjects, cockroach was the most common co-sensitizing aeroallergen. 41.9% of the d1-sensitized Guangdong subjects showed high-class sIgE reactivity (≥class 4), in contrast to a very low percentage of such reactivity in Yunnan. However, 36.3% of d1-sensitized subjects in Yunnan were concomitantly positive for tree pollen mix. Surprisingly, Yunnan subjects showed high prevalence of sIgE positivity for crabs and shrimps, either by overall or by age-group analysis, compared with their Guangdong counterparts (both P < 0.05). These findings may add to data about local allergies in China and worldwide.

A novel podophyllotoxin derivative, XWL-1-48, was synthesized as an oral topoisomerase II inhibitor. kDNA decatenation assay indicated that XWL-1-48 significantly inhibited topoisomerase II activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of XWL-1-48 is more potent than its congener GL331 and the IC 50 values are from 0.34 ± 0.21 to 3.54 ± 0.54 µM in 10 cancer cell lines including KBV200 cells with P-gp overexpression. Noticeably, XWL-1-48 exerted potent antitumor activity in in vitro and in vivo human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model. Further studies demonstrated that treatment of XWL-1-48 induced γ-H2AX and p-ATM expression, and further triggered DNA damage response through activation of ATM-p53-p21 and ATM-Chk2-Cdc25A pathways. Targeted inhibition of ATM by siRNA attenuated the ability of XWL-1-48 on inducing DNA damage. XWL-1-48 significantly suppressed Cyclin A and p-Cdk2 (Thr160) expression, increased p-Cdk2 (Thr14), led to inactivation of Cyclin A/Cdk2 complex, arrested cell cycle at S phase. Finally, XWL-1-48 elevated the ratio of Bax/Bcl2 and induced Fas and FasL, initiated mitochondria- and death receptor-mediated apoptosis pathway. Meanwhile, XWL-1-48 evidently enhanced degradation of Mdm2, blocked PI3K/Akt/Mdm2 pathway and suppressed HCC cell survival. Thus, XWL-1-48 may be a promising orally topoisomerase II inhibitor for treatment of HCC.

The mechanism by which dominantly inherited mutations in the housekeeping gene GARS, which encodes glycyl-tRNA synthetase (GlyRS), mediate selective peripheral nerve toxicity resulting in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2D (CMT2D) is still largely unresolved. The transmembrane receptor protein neuropilin 1 (Nrp1) was recently identified as an aberrant extracellular binding partner of mutant GlyRS. Formation of the Nrp1/mutant GlyRS complex antagonises Nrp1 interaction with one of its main natural ligands, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), contributing to neurodegeneration. However, reduced extracellular binding of VEGF-A to Nrp1 is known to disrupt post-natal blood vessel development and growth. We therefore analysed the vascular system at early and late symptomatic time points in CMT2D mouse muscles, retina, and sciatic nerve, as well as in embryonic hindbrain. Mutant tissues show no difference in blood vessel diameter, density/growth, and branching from embryonic development to three months, spanning the duration over which numerous sensory and neuromuscular phenotypes manifest. Our findings indicate that mutant GlyRS-mediated disruption of Nrp1/VEGF-A signalling is permissive to maturation and maintenance of the vasculature in CMT2D mice.

Dynamics and collapse of two-dimensional Airy beams are investigated numerically in nonlocal nonlinear media with split step Fourier transform method. In particular, the stability and self-healing properties of the Airy beams depend crucially on the location and topological charge of the vortex when the beams carry angular momentum. The propagation of abruptly autofocusing Airy beams is also demonstrated in local and nonlocal media. In strongly self-focusing regime, with the help of nonlocality, stationary propagation of two-dimensional Airy beams can be obtained, which always collapse in local nonlinear media.

Desert amplification identified in recent studies has large uncertainties due to data paucity over remote deserts. Here we present observational evidence using multiple satellite-derived datasets that desert amplification is a real large-scale pattern of warming mode in near surface and low-tropospheric temperatures. Trend analyses of three long-term temperature products consistently confirm that near-surface warming is generally strongest over the driest climate regions and this spatial pattern of warming maximizes near the surface, gradually decays with height, and disappears in the upper troposphere. Short-term anomaly analyses show a strong spatial and temporal coupling of changes in temperatures, water vapor and downward longwave radiation (DLR), indicating that the large increase in DLR drives primarily near surface warming and is tightly associated with increasing water vapor over deserts. Atmospheric soundings of temperature and water vapor anomalies support the results of the long-term temperature trend analysis and suggest that desert amplification is due to comparable warming and moistening effects of the troposphere. Likely, desert amplification results from the strongest water vapor feedbacks near the surface over the driest deserts, where the air is very sensitive to changes in water vapor and thus efficient in enhancing the longwave greenhouse effect in a warming climate.

Tensile strain and compress strain can greatly affect the thermal conductivity of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). However, the effect of GNRs under shear strain, which is also one of the main strain effect, has not been studied systematically yet. In this work, we employ reverse nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (RNEMD) to the systematical study of the thermal conductivity of GNRs (with model size of 4 nm × 15 nm) under the shear strain. Our studies show that the thermal conductivity of GNRs is not sensitive to the shear strain, and the thermal conductivity decreases only 12-16% before the pristine structure is broken. Furthermore, the phonon frequency and the change of the micro-structure of GNRs, such as band angel and bond length, are analyzed to explore the tendency of thermal conductivity. The results show that the main influence of shear strain is on the in-plane phonon density of states (PDOS), whose G band (higher frequency peaks) moved to the low frequency, thus the thermal conductivity is decreased. The unique thermal properties of GNRs under shear strains suggest their great potentials for graphene nanodevices and great potentials in the thermal managements and thermoelectric applications.

This study aimed to investigate the less known activation pattern of T lymphocyte populations and immune checkpoint inhibitors on immunocytes in patients with bipolar II disorder depression (BD) or major depression (MD). A total of 23 patients with BD, 22 patients with MD, and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The blood cell count of T lymphocyte subsets and the plasma level of cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) were selectively investigated. The expression of T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM-3), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, on T lymphocytes and monocytes, was detected. In results, blood proportion of cytotoxic T cells significantly decreased in BD patients than in either MD patients or HCs. The plasma level of IL-6 increased in patients with BD and MD. The expression of TIM-3 on cytotoxic T cells significantly increased, whereas the expression of PD-L2 on monocytes significantly decreased in patients with BD than in HCs. These findings extended our knowledge of the immune dysfunction in patients with affective disorders.

The clinical and cognitive responses to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in bipolar II depressed patients remain unclear. In this study, thirty-eight bipolar II depressed patients were randomly assigned into three groups: (i) left high-frequency (n = 12), (ii) right low-frequency (n = 13), (iii) sham stimulation (n = 13), and underwent four-week rTMS with quetiapine concomitantly. Clinical efficacy was evaluated at baseline and weekly intervals using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Cognitive functioning was assessed before and after the study with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Word-Color Interference Test (Stroop), and Trail Making Test (TMT). Thirty-five patients were included in the final analysis. Overall, the mean scores of both the HDRS-17 and the MADRS significantly decreased over the 4-week trial, which did not differ among the three groups. Exploratory analyses revealed no differences in factor scores of HDRS-17s, or in response or remission rates. Scores of WCST, Stroop, or TMT did not differ across the three groups. These findings indicated active rTMS combined with quetiapine was not superior to quetiapine monotherapy in improving depressive symptoms or cognitive performance in patients with bipolar II depression.

Two dimensional (2D) gamma-boron (γ-B28) thin films have been firstly reported by the experiments of the chemical vapor deposition in the latest study. However, their mechanical properties are still not clear. Here we predict the superhigh moduli (785 ± 42 GPa at 300 K) and the tension-induced phase transition of monolayer γ-B28 along a zigzag direction for large deformations at finite temperatures using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The new phase can be kept stable after unloading process at these temperatures. The predicted mechanical properties are reasonable when compared with our results from density functional theory. This study provides physical insights into the origins of the new phase transition of monolayer γ-B28 at finite temperatures.

A unique microbiome that metabolizes lactate rather than ethanol for n-caproate production was obtained from a fermentation pit used for the production of Chinese strong-flavour liquor (CSFL). The microbiome was able to produce n-caproate at concentrations as high as 23.41 g/L at a maximum rate of 2.97 g/L/d in batch trials without in-line extraction. Compared with previous work using ethanol as the electron donor, the n-caproate concentration increased by 82.89%. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that the microbiome was dominated by a Clostridium cluster IV, which accounted for 79.07% of total reads. A new process for n-caproate production was proposed, lactate oxidation coupled to chain elongation, which revealed new insight into the well-studied lactate conversion and carbon chain elongation. In addition, these findings indicated a new synthesis mechanism of n-caproate in CSFL. We believe that this efficient process will provide a promising opportunity for the innovation of waste recovery as well as for n-caproate biosynthesis.

In this report, both p- and n-type tin oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) were simultaneously achieved using single-step deposition of the tin oxide channel layer. The tuning of charge carrier polarity in the tin oxide channel is achieved by selectively depositing a copper oxide capping layer on top of tin oxide, which serves as an oxygen source, providing additional oxygen to form an n-type tin dioxide phase. The oxidation process can be realized by annealing at temperature as low as 190 °C in air, which is significantly lower than the temperature generally required to form tin dioxide. Based on this approach, CMOS inverters based entirely on tin oxide TFTs were fabricated. Our method provides a solution to lower the process temperature for tin dioxide phase, which facilitates the application of this transparent oxide semiconductor in emerging electronic devices field.