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Photocatalytic selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes under mild conditions is of great significance for green and sustainable development, and design of photocatalysts with high efficiency is an interesting topic. Herein, we present a new conjugated microporous polymer photocatalyst named NiFe-CMP, composed of Ni-porphyrin and Fe-bipyridyl units, for efficient photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols. The porous structure of NiFe-CMP provides numerous absorption sites and exposes catalytically active centres, enhancing the reaction kinetics. Experimental and theoretical analyses indicate that the incorporation of Fe and Ni dual-metal sites not only enhances the dissociation of excitons into free charge carriers by regulating the electronic structures, but also reduces the reaction energy barrier for the formation of *O2 intermediates, thus promoting the massive production of ˙O2− active species. Impressively, NiFe-CMP manifests excellent catalytic performance, achieving a 96.2% conversion rate for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde under 4 hours of visible light radiation, over approximately 17 times higher than that of the pristine CMP. Besides, NiFe-CMP exhibits high recyclability and displays an excellent adaptability towards various aromatic alcohols. This work further advances the rational design of efficient photocatalysts for selective aromatic alcohol oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between sarcopenia and the long‐term risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. This study recruited a large prospective Caucasian cohort from the UK Biobank. Participants were assessed at baseline with handgrip strength and muscle mass and were categorized into groups of non‐sarcopenia, probable sarcopenia, and confirmed sarcopenia. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used to explore the association between sarcopenia and the incidence of AF. The genetic predisposition of AF was assessed by polygenic risk score. Sensitivity analyses were performed to validate the results. A total of 384,433 participants with a median age of 58 years and 54.3% women were enrolled in this study. There were 24,007 cases of new‐onset AF over a median follow‐up of 12.56 years. The groups of non‐sarcopenia, probable sarcopenia, and confirmed sarcopenia accounted for 22,290 (6.1%), 1665 (9.2%), and 52 (11.9%) cases, respectively. Compared with the non‐sarcopenia group, participants with probable sarcopenia or confirmed sarcopenia had an 8% (95% CI, 1.03–1.14) or 61% (95% CI, 1.23–2.12) higher risk of AF incidence. The findings remained robust in multiple sensitivity analyses, such as subgroup analysis and further adjustment of genetic predisposition. Notably, the association between sarcopenia and a high AF risk was more pronounced in younger participants, women, and those with valvular heart disease. In conclusion, sarcopenia was associated with a high long‐term risk of AF in Caucasians, supporting sarcopenia as a new independent risk factor of AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limits of chip technology are constantly being pushed with the continuous development of integrated circuit manufacturing processes and equipment. Currently, chips contain several billion, and even tens of billions, of transistors, making chip testing increasingly challenging. The verification of very large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI) requires testing on specialized automatic test equipment (ATE), but their cost and size significantly limit their applicability. The current FPGA-based ATE is limited in its scalability and support for few test channels and short test vector lengths. As a result, it is only suitable for testing specific chips in small-scale circuits and cannot be used to test VLSI. This paper proposes a low-cost hardware and software solution for testing digital integrated circuits based on design for testability (DFT) on chips, which enables the functional and performance test of the chip. The solution proposed can effectively use the resources within the FPGA to provide additional test channels. Furthermore, the round-robin data transmission mode can also support test vectors of any length and it can satisfy different types of chip test projects through the dynamic configuration of each test channel. The experiment successfully tested a digital signal processor (DSP) chip with 72 scan test pins (theoretically supporting 160 test pins). Compared to our previous work, the work in this paper increases the number of test channels by four times while reducing resource utilization per channel by 37.5%, demonstrating good scalability and versatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adaptability of living organisms to dynamically adjust their biological behavior in response to fluctuating surroundings is a prerequisite for their evolutionary success. However, artificially‐synthesized materials, especially semiconductors, have not been able to replicate such adaptability due to their inherent physical rigidity and lack of intrinsic structural responsiveness to external stimuli. Herein, an adaptive structural evolution in group‐III‐nitride semiconductors is demonstrated by constructing an AlGaN‐nanowire/Ni(OH)2 symbiotic‐system, resulting in self‐improved optoelectronic characteristics. The mutualistic interplay between AlGaN and Ni(OH)2 nanostructure leads to the adaptive evolution of crystalline‐facets of AlGaN‐nanowires, along with self‐optimization of Ni(OH)2 nanocrystals upon photon‐irradiation during its operation. Specifically, the nanowire‐surfaces dynamically evolve during Ni(OH)2 photo‐deposition, removing the (0001¯$\bar{1}$) plane while exposing the (101¯1¯$\bar{1}\bar{1}$), which facilitates carrier transport at AlGaN/Ni(OH)2 interface. Moreover, light‐induced electrons generated from AlGaN‐nanowires then partially reduce Ni2+ ions in the Ni(OH)2 nanostructure into Ni0 nanometals, which further boosts the proton reduction thermodynamics, generating an unusual self‐improving photocurrent from −59.6 to −101.6 µA cm−2. Such a "symbiotic system," which is barely observed in conventional semiconductors, provides a promising avenue toward realizing smart adaptive semiconductors that are capable of dynamic structural evolution to fully unleash their potential for emerging optoelectronic and artificial‐photocatalysis applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To protect the audio stored on third-party servers, a novel authentication and recovery watermarking scheme for encrypted audio is proposed. We define the relative energy (RE) feature and analyze the characteristic of the feature. At the embedding stage, the host audio is encrypted firstly. Then the encrypted audio is divided into frames. We embed watermark bits into each frame by quantifying the RE feature. At the decoding stage, the receivers locate the attacked frames based on the watermark extraction and substitute the attacked frames using 0 amplitude signals, which are scattered over different segments after anti-scrambling transformation and do not influence the expressed meaning of watermarked signal. Experimental evaluation results demonstrate that the scheme improves the security of audio signals stored on third-party servers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the security and privacy of audio data stored in third party servers, a novel watermarking scheme is proposed. Firstly, the authors split the host signal into frames and scramble each frame to get the encrypted signal. Secondly, they generate watermark bits by using the frame number and embed them into each frame of the encrypted signal, which is the data that will be uploaded to the third party servers. For the users, they can download the encrypted data and verify the data is intact or not. If the data is intact, the users decrypt the data to get the audio signal. If the audio signal is attacked in the process of transmission, they can also locate the location of the attacked frame. The experimental results show that the method proposed is effective not only for encrypted signals, but also for the encrypted signals after decryption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrier diffusion properties, including the diffusion length, diffusion coefficient, and carrier lifetime are important for photonic devices. In nitride semiconductors, there are many microscopic structures, which have a strong influence on carrier diffusion. In this paper, a method based on the photo-assisted Kelvin-probe force microscope and the confocal time-resolved photoluminescence spectrum at the same position is developed to map simultaneously the topography and the nanoscale vertical carrier diffusion on the semiconductor surface. On the surface without any dislocations, the hole diffusion length and diffusion coefficient are 161 ± 8 nm and 1.6 ± 0.2 cm2/s, respectively. Near the termination of the dislocation loops on the surface, it can be clearly seen that the diffusion length and diffusion coefficient gradually drop to about 13 ± 5 nm and 0.02 ± 0.01 cm2/s with a spatial resolution of about 100 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertilizer management is commonly suggested as an option to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in rice fields. Controlled-release fertilizers are the best choice among various fertilizers for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in rice fields without impacting crop output. Therefore, in the current study, the novel controlled-release potassium blended fertilizers (CRKBF) at the levels CRK1: 180 kg K ha−1, resin potassium nitrate, 112.5 kg P ha−1 resin phosphorus fertilizers from superphosphate, CRK2: 90 kg K ha−1, 50% reduced resin potassium chloride, 112.5 kg P ha−1 resin phosphorus fertilizers from superphosphate, CRK3: 90 kg K ha−1, 50% reduced resin potassium nitrate, 112.5 kg P ha−1 resin phosphorus fertilizers from superphosphate were used in comparison to CK0: where no fertilizer was applied, CK1: 180 kg K ha−1, K locally recommended fertilizers from potassium nitrate and CK2: P and K blended fertilizers, 112.5 kg P ha−1, phosphorus from superphosphate and 180 kg K ha−1 from potassium chloride, to find the best possible way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without affecting the yield of rice. During a 2-yr period, CRKBF amendments significantly increased rice yield and its related components, i.e. panicles m−2, grains panicle−1, 1000-grain weight, seed setting rate, and dry matter accumulation. Among CRKBF, CRK1 treatments recorded higher grain yields of 11.4 t ha−1 and 10.7 t ha−1, followed by CRK2 (11.1 t ha−1 and 10.5 t ha−1) and CRK3 (10.7 t ha−1 and 10.3 t ha−1), respectively. Considering greenhouse gas emissions, CRKBF treatments significantly reduced methane emissions. CRK1 mitigated methane emissions by 33%, CRK2 reduced methane emissions by 25%, and CRK3 decreased methane emissions by 21%. In terms of nitrous oxide emissions, CRK1 and CRK3 treatments increased nitrous oxide emissions, while CRK2 treatment reduced nitrous oxide emissions. CRK1 enhanced nitrous oxide emissions by 56% followed by CRK3 which increased nitrous oxide emissions by 30%, whereas CRK2 reduced nitrous oxide emissions by 21%. Among CRKBF, CRK2 has the potential to mitigate area-scale global warming potential (area-scale GWP) by 21% and yield-scale global warming potential (yield-scale GWP) by 30%. The results of the study indicate that amendment of CRKBF having 50% K from potassium chloride (CRK2) to paddy fields is an effective approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields without affecting the rice yield and can be a promising alternative to ordinary commercial fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal oxide catalysts' performance depends on their crystal structure, including the surface arrangement and coordination of metal cations and oxygen anions on the exposed facets. Here, we fabricated Co3O4 nanocrystals (NCs) with predominantly exposed (110), (111), (112), and (114) facets in the shapes of nanorod (Co-R), hexagonal nanoplate (Co-H), nanolaminar (Co-L), and nanoparticle (Co-P), respectively. The Co3O4 NC with exposed (114) high-index facet exhibits the highest 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) electrocatalytic activity, while the Co3O4 NC with exposed (112) shows the lowest activity. Both density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments reveal that the primary factor impacting the catalytic performance of Co3O4 NCs is the difference in HMF adsorption energy on various crystal facets. By doping Cr into Co3O4 (114), we tuned the adsorption energy of HMF to an optimal level, thereby achieving the best catalytic performance. Based on this, the adsorption behavior of other aldehyde–alcohol organic small molecules was also evaluated, and the linear relationship between adsorption strength and catalytic activity was confirmed. This work demonstrates that adjusting the exposed crystal facets of Co3O4 can alter the adsorption and catalytic capabilities of aldehyde–alcohol organic small molecules. It also provides explicit knowledge that could improve our understanding of facet-dependent reactions for other metal oxide catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the mouse testis, Sertoli cells rapidly divide during a narrow window of time pre‐pubertally and differentiate thereafter. The number of Sertoli cells determines the testis size and germ cell‐carrying capacity. Follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) binds its cognate FSH‐receptors expressed on Sertoli cells and acts as a mitogen to regulate their proliferation. Fshb−/− mutant adult male mice have reduced Sertoli cell number and testis size and reduced sperm number and motility. However, FSH‐responsive genes in early postnatal mouse Sertoli cells are unknown. Objectives: To identify FSH‐responsive genes in early postnatal mouse Sertoli cells. Materials and methods: A fluorescence‐activated cell sorting method was developed to rapidly purify Sertoli cells from control and Fshb−/− mice carrying a Sox9 GfpKI allele. These pure Sertoli cells were used for large‐scale gene expression analyses. Results: We show that mouse Sertoli cells rarely divide beyond postnatal day 7. Our in vivo BrdU labeling studies indicate loss of FSH results in a 30% reduction in Sertoli cell proliferation in mice at 5 days of age. Flowsorted GFP+ Sertoli cells with maximal Fshr expression were 97%‐98% pure and mostly devoid of Leydig and germ cells as assessed by Taqman qPCR quantification of gene expression and immunolabeling of the corresponding cell‐specific markers. Large‐scale gene expression analysis identified several differentially regulated genes in flow‐sorted GFP+ Sertoli cells obtained from testis of control and Fshb−/− mice at 5 days of age. The top 25 networks identified by pathway analysis include those related to the cell cycle, cell survival and most importantly, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and molecular transport. Discussion: Several of the FSH‐responsive genes identified in this study could serve as useful markers for Sertoli cell proliferation in normal physiology, toxicant‐induced Sertoli cell/testis injury, and other pathological conditions. Conclusion: Our studies reveal that FSH‐regulates macromolecular metabolism and molecular transport networks of genes in early postnatal Sertoli cells most likely in preparation for establishment of functional associations with germ cells to successfully coordinate spermatogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital watermarking is a promising technology used in copyright protection for digital audio. However, in audio watermarking, it is still a challenge to achieve robustness against recapturing attacks, although much effort has been made in recent years. In this paper, a novel audio watermarking based on the frequency domain power spectrum (FDPS) feature is proposed to resist recapturing attacks. We divide a long audio signal into segments and split each segment into fragments. We embed synchronization codes in some fragments by quantifying the feature generated by discrete wavelet transform (DWT) approximate coefficients and copyright information in other fragments based on the FDPS feature. For the incoming audio, we extract synchronization codes to locate the watermarked fragments, further to extract copyright information. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method performs well under recapturing attacks and the bit error ratio (BER) value is decreased by more than 13% by comparing with the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cobweb disease is a fungal disease that can cause serious damage to edible mushrooms worldwide. To investigate cobweb disease in Morchella sextelata in Guizhou Province, China, we isolated and purified the pathogen responsible for the disease. Through morphological and molecular identification and pathogenicity testing on infected M. sextelata, we identified Cladobotryum mycophilum as the cause of cobweb disease in this region. This is the first known occurrence of this pathogen causing cobweb disease in M. sextelata anywhere in the world. We then obtained the genome of C. mycophilum BJWN07 using the HiFi sequencing platform, resulting in a high-quality genome assembly with a size of 38.56 Mb, 10 contigs, and a GC content of 47.84%. We annotated 8428 protein-coding genes in the genome, including many secreted proteins, host interaction-related genes, and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) related to the pathogenesis of the disease. Our findings shed new light on the pathogenesis of C. mycophilum and provide a theoretical basis for developing potential prevention and control strategies for cobweb disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need to comprehensively evaluate the rice quality of different rice varieties under different nitrogen treatments. Therefore, in this study, we used twenty-one hybrid indica rice varieties and twenty-three inbred japonica rice varieties with three nitrogen fertilizer levels to investigate differences in rice qualities. As compared with hybrid indica rice, inbred japonica rice had lower coefficient of variation values for grain shape, mild rice percentage, and head rice percentage, but relatively higher coefficient of variation values for chalkiness traits, appearance, and taste value of cooked rice. A principal component analysis and membership function method were used to comprehensively evaluate the qualities of rice. The overall eating quality value by sensory evaluation and head rice percentage explained 61.3% and 67.9% of the variations in comprehensive quality of hybrid indica rice and inbred japonica rice across different nitrogen levels, respectively. We also found that rice comprehensive quality was better under low nitrogen levels for hybrid indica rice, while for inbred japonica rice, properly increasing nitrogen application could improve the comprehensive quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mouse, two distinct populations of Leydig cells arise during testis development. Fetal Leydig cells arise from a stem cell population and produce T required for masculinization. It is debated whether they persist in the adult testis. A second adult Leydig stem cell population gives rise to progenitor-immature-mature adult type Leydig cells that produce T in response to LH to maintain spermatogenesis. In testis of adult null male mice lacking either only LH (Lhb−/−) or LHR (Lhr−/−), mature Leydig cells are absent but fetal Leydig cells persist. Thus, it is not clear whether other ligands signal via LHRs in Lhb null mice or LH signals via other receptors in the absence of LHR in Lhr null mice. Moreover, it is not clear whether truncated LHR isoforms generated from the same Lhr gene promoter encode functionally relevant LH receptors. To determine the in vivo roles of LH-LHR signaling pathway in the Leydig cell lineage, we generated double null mutant mice lacking both LH Ligand and all forms of LHR. Phenotypic analysis indicated testis morpho-histological characteristics are identical among double null and single mutants which all showed poorly developed interstitium with a reduction in Leydig cell number and absence of late stage spermatids. Gene expression analyses confirmed that the majority of the T biosynthesis pathway enzyme-encoding mRNAs expressed in Leydig cells were all suppressed. Expression of thrombospondin-2, a fetal Leydig cell marker gene was upregulated in single and double null mutants indicating that fetal Leydig cells originate and develop independent of LH-LHR signaling pathway in vivo. Serum and intratesticular T levels were similarly suppressed in single and double mutants. Consequently, expression of AR-regulated genes in Sertoli and germ cells were similarly affected in single and double mutants without any evidence of any additive effect in the combined absence of both LH and LHR. Our studies unequivocally provide genetic evidence that in the mouse testis, fetal Leydig cells do not require LH-LHR signaling pathway and a one-to-one LH ligand-LHR signaling pathway exists in vivo to regulate adult Leydig cell lineage and spermatogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are regarded as two types of novel solvents with high tunability, which exist in the liquid state in a wide temperature range. The sustainability of ILs and DESs enable their wide utilization as solvents, absorbents, electrolytes, surfactants, catalysts, lubricants and photosensitizers. Additionally, the stability of ILs and DESs is necessary for their application in industry. However, not all ILs and DESs are sufficiently stable. Herein, we present a comprehensive and systematic review on the thermal, chemical, electrochemical, radiolytic and biological stability of ILs and DESs. This can provide a guide for the better design of ILs and DESs with higher stability for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not enough attention has been paid to the comparison in yield performance and N responsiveness between hybrid rice and inbred rice using the large number of new cultivars released after 2000 under machine transplanting. Field experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018; 48 widely planted rice cultivars included four groups, namely indica hybrids (IHs), japonica inbreds (JIs), indica-japonica hybrids (IJHs), and indica inbreds (IIs) that were transplanted by machine with three nitrogen fertilizer levels (0, 150, 300 kg ha−1). The average yield of the hybrids (IHs, IJHs) was higher than that of JIs or IIs with a higher crop-growing rate (CGR) during the total growth duration, regardless of the N application level; moreover, longer total growth duration was responsible for the higher yield in IJHs than in IHs. The IHs had a large gap yield which mainly came from the genetic improvement in the CGR during the grain-filling stage. The yield gap was relatively small in JIs, and longer growth duration combined with optimal daily mean temperature during the grain-filling stage was the critical factor for high yield. The JIs or IJHs had higher yield under the N300 level, while the response of IHs to nitrogen varied with different cultivars. Cultivars with higher CGR during the grain-filling stage had higher yield under the N300 level. In conclusion, this study suggests that high CGR during the grain-filling stage may be a vital trait for the development of rice with high yield and high N responsiveness at machine transplanting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are well-known as novel solvents due to their unique properties, which are indispensable for the development of green chemistry in the future. CoCl2·6H2O and NiCl2·6H2O-based DESs, which could be called magnetic DESs (MDESs) for short in view of their responsive behavior to an external magnetic field, have been widely used in many industrial applications, such as biomass treatment, electrolytes, and material preparation. For better application and full-scale development of these MDESs in various fields, eleven MDESs were prepared in this work by using CoCl2·6H2O and NiCl2·6H2O as hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs) with alcohols, carboxylic acids and amides as hydrogen bond donors (HBDs), respectively. The intermolecular interactions between the components of MDESs were characterized via FTIR, 1H NMR and DSC analysis. In addition, physicochemical properties including density, viscosity, conductivity, ionicity, pH values, surface tension, thermostability and solvatochromic parameters were investigated. All MDESs exhibit acid characteristics and have good conductivity comparable with ionic liquids (ILs) and other DESs used for electrolytes. The results show that stronger H-bonding networks in Ni-based MDESs make them have higher density, viscosity, polarity and surface tension values than Co-based MDESs. Moreover, all prepared MDESs possess a good conductivity behavior which could be comparable to that of common organic solvents and ILs. According to this work, we could better comprehend the behavior of Co/Ni-based MDESs and choose the appropriate one for particular applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymers are widely recognized to entail random conformations in good solvent governed by the need for achieving the highest entropy to reach thermodynamic equilibrium. In this context, it remains grand challenging to directly arrange them into ordered conformation as building blocks for further self-assembling into hierarchal structures. Herein, we report a simple yet viable strategy to progressively assemble rationally designed azobenzene-containing alternating copolymer (i.e., poly(binaphthyl-spacer-azobenzene-alt-hexaethylene glycol), denoted P(BNPSAzo-alt-EG6)24) into helical supramolecular nanorods. Specifically, P(BNPSAzo-alt-EG6)24 chains in good solvent are firstly self-assembled into helical single molecular micelles in good solvent via intramolecular π-π interaction between binaphthyl groups as well as between azobenzene moieties. Subsequently, by simply introducing water into the solution that is allowed to dwell for a certain period of time, single molecular micelles are self-assembled into well-defined vesicles. Finally, these isotropic vesicles could be further transformed into anisotropic helical supramolecular nanorods with enhanced aggregate-induced emission (AIE) capability driven by repeated, light-triggered cis-trans isomerization of azobenzene moieties with the retention of π-π interacted binaphthyl groups. This study highlights a facile route to yielding morphology-rich, functional assemblies from a single polymer via judiciously exploiting non-covalent interaction and light of different wavelength as highly effective trigger in a non-invasive manner for potential applications in controlled release and fluorescent labelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carrier transport dynamics at the surface/interface of semiconductors determine the electronic and optical properties of devices. Thus, precise control of their dynamic processes while understanding the nature of these characteristics is crucial for modulating device functionalities. Here, a photoelectrochemical‐type photosensor is built using monocrystalline p‐GaN nanowires on the Si platform, which unambiguously exhibits either positive or negative photocurrent upon different light illumination. Such dual‐polarity photocurrents are attributed to photogenerated‐carrier‐transport competition at two interfaces: the GaN/electrolyte and GaN/Si interface. Particularly, a rational Pt decoration successfully accelerates the carrier migration at the GaN/electrolyte interface that breaks the original balance of carrier transport. This mechanism is further elaborated by Kelvin‐probe‐force‐microscopy characterization, which intuitively reveals the impact of Pt decoration on modulating nanowires' surface band bending and the consequent carrier dynamics at the interfaces. These insights into the control of carrier dynamics shed light on achieving multi‐functional PEC devices built upon simple semiconductor architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grains located on different positions of the panicle differed in grain weight and quality performance, however, the comprehensive effect of sowing dates on physiological and quantitative characteristics of grains located on different positions still remains unclear. In this study, a field experiment was conducted with two japonica rice cultivars, Nanjing 9108 and Ningjing 7, under 3 sowing dates (S1, 30th April; S2, 30th May; S3, 30th June). Delayed sowing treatments increased before-heading mean temperature (Tmean), day temperature (Tday), night temperature (Tnight) and mean solar radiation (Smean) for 0.94 °C, 0.99 °C, 1.23 °C, and 1.04 MJ, respectively, while decreased growth duration (GD) for 13.4 days, with 30 days delaying sowing date. Elevated before heading thermal resources and shortened GD contributed to enlarged panicle size via enhancing number of grains on secondary branches (SG) and led to higher ratio of SG per unit area (SG%). Meanwhile, delayed sowing decreased after heading Tmean, Tday, Tnight and Smean by 0.84 °C, 1.23 °C, 1.13 °C, and 2.12 MJ, respectively, with 30 days delaying sowing, and further enhanced rice stickiness (ST), peak viscosity (PKV) and breakdown (BD), but suppressed hardness (HD), amylose content (AC), cold pasting viscosity (CPV), hot pasting viscosity (HPV) and setback (SB) of SG, whilst grains on primary branches (PG) di no significant differences. Elevated taste and cooking quality of SG under delayed sowing was regulated by slower grain filling rate, which is largely regulated by AGPase and GBSS. Compared to PG, SG has better physiochemical, texture properties and RVA profiles due to its slower starch biosynthesis. The above results suggested that physiological (starch biosynthesis of SG) and quantitative parameters (amount of SG) of the rice population should be referred simultaneously to improve rice cooking and taste quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress of transplanting injury adversely affects rice growth and productivity worldwide. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the precursor of glutathione, is a potent ROS scavenger with powerful antioxidant activity. Previous studies on the application of NAC in plants mainly focused on alleviating the stress of heavy metals, UV-B, herbicides, etc. However, the role of NAC in alleviating transplanting injury is still not clear. A barrel experiment was carried out to explain the mechanism of NAC regulating the transplanting injury to machine-transplanted rice during the recovery stage. The results showed that NAC priming shortened the time of initiation of tillering and increased the tiller numbers within 3 weeks after transplanting. In addition, NAC priming increased the chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, and sucrose content, thereby improving the dry weight at the recovery stage, especially root dry weight. At the same time, NAC priming significantly increased the activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). In addition, it also regulated flavonoids and total phenols contents to reduce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, especially at the initial days after transplanting. These results suggest that NAC priming improves the tolerance of rice seedlings against transplanting injury by enhancing photosynthesis and antioxidant systems at initial days after transplanting, thereby promoting the accumulation of dry matter and tillering for higher yield returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remobilization of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) in the stem is essential for rice grain filling so as to improve grain yield. We conducted a two-year field experiment to deeply investigate their relationship. Two large-panicle rice varieties with similar spikelet size, CJ03 and W1844, were used to conduct two treatments (removing-spikelet group and control group). Compared to CJ03, W1844 had higher 1000-grain weight, especially for the grain growth of inferior spikelets (IS) after removing the spikelet. These results were mainly ascribed to the stronger sink strength of W1844 than that of CJ03 contrasting in the same group. The remobilization efficiency of NSC in the stem decreased significantly after removing the spikelet for both CJ03 and W1844, and the level of sugar signaling in the T6P-SnRK1 pathway was also significantly changed. However, W1844 outperformed CJ03 in terms of the efficiency of carbon reserve remobilization under the same treatments. More precisely, there was a significant difference during the early grain-filling stage in terms of the conversion of sucrose and starch. Interestingly, the sugar signaling of the T6P and SnRK1 pathways also represented an obvious change. Hence, sugar signaling may be promoted by sink strength to remobilize the NSCs of the rice stem during grain filling to further advance crop yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain chalkiness is a key quality trait of the rice grain, whereas its underlying mechanism is still not thoroughly understood because of the complex genetic and environmental interactions. We identified a notched-belly (NB) mutant that has a notched-line on the belly of grains. The line dissects the endosperm into two distinct parts, the upper translucent part, and the bottom chalky part in the vicinity of the embryo. Using this mutant, our previous studies clued the negative influence of embryo on the biochemical makeup of the endosperm, suggesting the need for the in-depth study of the embryo effect on the metabolome of developing endosperm. This study continued to use the NB mutant to evolve a novel comparison method to clarify the role of embryo in the formation of a chalky endosperm. Grain samples of the wild-type (WT) and NB were harvested at 10, 20, and 30 days after fertilization (DAF), and then divided into subsamples of the embryo, the upper endosperm, and the bottom endosperm. Using non-targeted metabolomics and whole-genome RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), a nearly complete catalog of expressed metabolites and genes was generated. Results showed that the embryo impaired the storage of sucrose, amino acid, starch, and storage proteins in the bottom endosperm of NB by enhancing the expression of sugar, amino acids, and peptide transporters, and declining the expression of starch, prolamin, and glutelin synthesis-related genes. Importantly, the competitive advantage of the developing embryo in extracting the nutrients from the endosperm, transformed the bottom endosperm into an "exhaustive source" by diverting the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism from synthetic storage to secondary pathways, resulting in impaired filling of the bottom endosperm and subsequently the formation of chalky tissue. In summary, this study reveals that embryo-induced metabolic shift in the endosperm is associated with the occurrence of grain chalkiness, which is of relevance to the development of high-quality rice by balancing the embryo–endosperm interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor light stress causes lodging risks in hybrid indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Sichuan Basin, China. However, the effective way of improving lodging resistance of hybrid indica rice by plant regulation strategy under poor light stress has not yet been investigated. A 2‐yr field study, comparing the three foliar application uniconazole rates under normal light and shading condition, was conducted to determine the lodging resistance and its physiological mechanism by using two hybrid rice varieties (Yuxiang203 [YX203] and Cliangyouhuazhan [CLYHZ]). The results showed that shading significantly decreased grain yield, but, increased lodging index (LI) due to poor stem breaking strength (M). Also, shading increased the non‐structural carbohydrates (NSC), but reduced structural carbohydrate (SC), especially for lignin in basal culm and thus, weakened the stem stiffness. Grain yield was first increased, and then declined with increasing foliar uniconazole rates. And, LI decreased sharply owing to improvement of M while reduction of bending moment by whole plant (WP). Larger section modulus (SM) of YX203 and higher bending stress (BS) of CLYHZ were contributed to higher M. Correlation analysis showed that M was significantly correlated with culm diameter, culm wall thickness and SC content for YX203, and that with SC content for CLYHZ, respectively. The results indicated that foliar application of uniconazole increased lodging resistance of hybrid indica rice for larger M and SC accumulation in basal stem. Uniconazole foliar application at 40 mg L–1 can increase lodging resistance while maintaining grain yield of hybrid indica rice in the Sichuan Basin, China. Core Ideas: Shading rapidly raised lodging risks of hybrid indica rice due to poor stem strength of basal stem.The foliar application uniconazole increased lodging resistance of hybrid indica rice.The higher stem strength of Yuxiang203 rely on section modulus and structural carbohydrates.Uniconazole rate at 40 mg L–1 rose lodging resistance and yield of hybrid indica rice in the Sichuan Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the differential responses of super rice grain filling to low filling stage temperature (LT) and the regulative effect of nitrogen panicle fertilizer (NPF), physiological and molecular experiments were conducted with two super rice varieties (Nanjing 7th: N7 and Nanjing 9108th: N9108) on two different filling stage temperature treatments implemented by applying two sowing dates [Normal filling stage temperature (CK): Sowed on May 30, Tmean = 24.7°C and low filling stage temperature (LT): Sowed on July 1, Tmean = 20.3°C], and two NPF levels (0 and 150 kg N ha−1). In this study, LT, NPF, and simultaneous LT and NPF treatments suppressed the grain filling in all varieties with different levels. Under LT or NPF treatments, the reduction of grain weight, seed setting rate, and filling rate were closely associated with suppressed starch biosynthesis rate in inferior seeds, suggesting that reduced starch biosynthesis rate, expression, and activities of enzymes encoded by related genes, Floury endosperm-4 (FLO4), Starch branching enzyme-I (SBE1), and Starch phosphorylase-L (PHO-l), were responsible for the grain filling reduction. Under LT or NPF treatments, significantly higher grain filling rates and lower variance were found in N9108 compared to that in N7, which were closely related to their higher starch biosynthesis ability, related gene expression, and enzymes activities. One of the probable explanations of the grain filling difference was the variation in the relative amount of key regulative hormones, Abscisic acid (ABA) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). These results raise a possibility that super rice with higher sink activities has superior adaptability to LT and NPF due to their higher sink activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor grain-filling initiation often causes the poor development of inferior spikelets (IS) which limits the yield potential of large panicle rice (Oryza sativa L.). However, it remains unclear why IS often has poor grain-filling initiation. In addressing this problem, this study conducted a field experiment involving two large panicle rice varieties, namely CJ03 and W1844, in way of removing the superior spikelets (SS) during flowering to force enough photosynthate transport to the IS. The results of this study showed that the grain-filling initiation of SS was much earlier than the IS in CJ03 and W1844, whereas the grain-filling initiation of IS in W1844 was evidently more promoted compared with the IS of CJ03 by removing spikelets. The poor sucrose-unloading ability, i.e., carbohydrates contents, the expression patterns of OsSUTs , and activity of CWI, were highly improved in IS of CJ03 and W1844 by removing spikelets. However, there was a significantly higher rise in the efficiency of sucrose to starch metabolism, i.e., the expression patterns of OsSUS4 and OsAGPL1 and activities of SuSase and AGPase, for IS of W1844 than that of CJ03. Removing spikelets also led to the changes in sugar signaling of T6P and SnRK1 level. These changes might be related to the regulation of sucrose to starch metabolism. The findings of this study suggested that poor sucrose-unloading ability delays the grain-filling initiation of IS. Nonetheless, the efficiency of sucrose to starch metabolism is also strongly linked with the grain-filling initiation of IS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network function virtualization (NFV) technology can realize on-demand distribution of network resources and improve network flexibility. It has become one of the key technologies for next-generation communications. Virtual network function service chain (VNF-SC) deployment is an important problem faced by network function virtualization technology. In this paper, the problem, VNF deployment for VNF-SC, is investigated. First, a two-objective mathematical model, which maximizes balancing and reliability of SFC, is established. In this model, VNFs are divided into two classes, i.e., part of required VNFs in each VNF-SC is dependent, others are independent. Second, harmony search-based MOEA/D (HS-MOEA/D) is proposed to solve the model effectively. In HS-MOEA/D, Chebyshev decomposition mechanism is used to transform multiobjective optimization problem into a series of single-objective optimization subproblems. A new evolutionary strategy is deeply studied in order to propose a new harmony search (HS) algorithm. Finally, to show high performance of the proposed algorithm, a large number of experiments are conducted. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm enhances the reliability of SFC and reduces the end-to-end delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common cardiovascular disease with a poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to construct a nomogram for predicting the long-term survival of critically ill patients with AMI. This nomogram will help in assessing disease severity, guiding treatment, and improving prognosis. Patients and Methods: The clinical data of patients with AMI were extracted from the MIMIC-III v1.4 database. Cox proportional hazards models were adopted to identify independent prognostic factors. A nomogram for predicting the long-term survival of these patients was developed on the basis of the results of multifactor analysis. The discriminative ability and accuracy of the multifactor analysis were evaluated according to concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves. Results: A total of 1202 patients were included in the analysis. The patients were randomly divided into a training set (n = 841) and a validation set (n = 361). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, blood urea nitrogen, respiratory rate, hemoglobin, pneumonia, cardiogenic shock, dialysis, and mechanical ventilation, all of which were incorporated into the nomogram, were independent predictive factors of AMI. Moreover, the nomogram exhibited favorable performance in predicting the 4-year survival of patients with AMI. The training set and the validation set had a C-index of 0.789 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.765– 0.813) and 0.762 (95% CI: 0.725– 0.799), respectively. Conclusion: The nomogram constructed herein can accurately predict the long-term survival of critically ill patients with AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approach to complicated quinoline derivatives catalyzed by rhodium catalytic system via oxidative annulations was proposed. A systematic exploration was completed. All kinds of reaction parameters were determined. And 55 kinds of target molecules were obtained with moderate to high yields. Combination of double oxidants made the conversion proceed smoothly. A clear reaction mechanism was put forward. Adjacent π systems might provide assistance for realizing the activation of relatively unreactive C(5)H of imidazole rings by forming five‐membered metallacycle intermediates. In addition, scaled‐up experiment verified the practical applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network virtualization (NV) can provide the resource according to the request and can improve the flexibility of the network. It has become the key technology of 5G communication. Resource scheduling in virtual network mapping is an important problem faced by NV technology. To enhance the performance of the network, optimal resource scheduling schemes should be determined. In general, maximum index of frequency slots used, energy consumption, and the ratio of used frequency slots are three very important indicators for the network. Based on the previous research studies, we first take these three indicators into the objective of the mathematical model and define a novel multiobjective optimization model. Then, the three objectives are integrated into one objective to be minimized by using the sum weighted strategy. Finally, an efficient algorithm, which integrates the advantages of artificial raindrop algorithm (ARA), particle swarm optimization, and differential evolution, is proposed and denoted as IARA. Moreover, simulation experiments have been conducted in several experimental scenes with other compared algorithms. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm IARA can obtain better scheduling schemes than the compared algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) can provide the resource according to the request and can improve the flexibility of the network. It has become the key technology of the Internet of Things (IoT). Resource scheduling for the virtual network function service chain (VNF-SC) is the key issue of the NFV. Energy consumption is an important indicator for the IoT; we take the energy consumption into the objective and define a novel objective to satisfying different objectives of the decision-maker. Due to the complexity of VNF-SC deployment problem, through taking into consideration of the heterogeneity of nodes (each node only can provide some specific VNFs), and the limitation of resources in each node, a novel optimal model is constructed to define the problem of VNF-SC deployment problem. To solve the optimization model effectively, a weighted center opposition-based learning is introduced to brainstorm optimization to find the optimal solution (OBLBSO). To show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, numerous of simulation experiments have been conducted. Experimental results indicate that OBLBSO can improve the accuracy of the solution than compared algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of CO2 switchable deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was proposed and a series of CO2 switchable imidazole-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was designed. The CO2 switch mechanism was investigated and the system was used for easy emulsion separation of olive oil from DESs. The benign CO2 switchable DESs have great potential applications in dissolution and easy separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain-filling, as the final growth stage of rice, is sensitive to environmental temperature change. Previous studies mainly concerned about the effects of high temperature stress during grain-filling on rice growth, and most experiments were carried out with pot for cultivating rice and greenhouse for warming. This research investigated the response of rice grain-filling of superior spikelets (SS) and inferior spikelets (IS) of two japonica cultivars to elevated temperature during grain-filling stage under open-field warming conditions in lower reaches of Yangtze River Basin using free-air temperature enhancement facility. Results indicated that rice yield was not significantly changed by warming less than 4°C. SS and IS showed different responses to elevated temperature during the grain-filling stage, whereas there were similar trends between two cultivars and years. For SS, although elevated temperature enhanced its filling rate during the early grain-filling period, and caused a shorter grain-filling period and a lighter grain weight; for IS, elevated temperature improved its grain weight by enhancing its filling rate during middle and late grain-filling period due to the increased number of days with suitable temperature. For both SS and IS, key starch biosynthesis enzymes and indole-3-acetic acid content exhibited generally a similar dynamics trend with grain-filling rates, and these sink strength parameters presented higher levels under elevated temperature relative to natural temperature for IS during middle and late grain-filling period. Consequently, warming less than 4°C presented different influences on SS and IS; the improvement of IS filling under warming regime was associated with the intensification of grain sink strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, a defect‐engineered carbon nitride (DCN) electrocatalyst has been synthesized by directly annealing of a rationally designed urea precursor. The existence of defect sites was investigated by detailed characterizations. When loading a small amount of Ru nanoparticles, the obtained DCN catalyst offers excellent catalytic activity for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome, with high morbidity and mortality. Serum anion gap (SAG) is associated with the severity of various cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of SAG indicators in CHF is unclear. Methods and Results. A retrospective analysis of data from Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III version 1.4 was conducted in critically ill patients with CHF. The clinical information of each patient, including demographic data, comorbidities, vital signs, scores, and laboratory indicators, were successfully obtained. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the relationship between SAG and mortality in patients with CHF, the consistency of which was further verified by subgroup analysis. Results. A total of 7426 subjects met the inclusion criteria. Multivariate analysis showed that after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, and other potential confounders, increased SAG was significantly related to an increase in 30- and 90-day all-cause mortalities of critically ill patients with CHF compared with decreased SAG (tertile 3 versus tertile 1: adjusted hazard ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.74, 1.46–2.08; 1.53, 1.32–1.77). Subgroup analysis indicated that the association between SAG and all-cause mortality presented similarities in most strata. Conclusion. SAG at admission could be a promising predictor of all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with CHF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We for the first time have found that PEG-based DESs could volatilize at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The mass loss from long-term evaporation of PEG-based DESs at 298.15 K for 1000 min could reach as high as 30.5% mass loss, ca. 6 times that of short-term evaporation (5.1% mass loss). Generally, the vaporization enthalpy of PEG-based DESs is found to lie between that of common organic solvents and that of ionic liquids, while some PEG-based DESs could be more volatile than common organic solvents. The evaporation of PEG-based DESs could be ascribed to their volatile constituents; however, the evaporation rate of each constituent is found to be very different. This is the first discovery of the higher volatility of PEG-based DESs at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watermarking is a solution for forensics tracking for digital speech signal, while recapturing and de-synchronization attacks may remove the watermark effectively. It brings threat to watermarking technology used for forensics tracking. In this regards, we defined the discrete cosine transform coefficients logarithm mean (DCT-CLM) feature of speech signal and concluded that the interference caused by recapturing attack has similar impact on the DCT-CLM feature of two adjacent segments. Based on the feature, we proposed a speech watermarking method robust against recapturing and de-synchronization attacks. For the mute parts of speech signal have no meaning and are not the major component for forensics tracking, we focused on non-silence (NS) parts in this paper and embed watermark into DCT-CLM feature belonging to these parts. Compared with the state-of-the-art works, the BER value of the proposed method is decreased by 9% for recapturing attack. Besides, the method outperforms the recent robust watermarking methods notably for recapturing and post-processed with signal processing operations and de-synchronization attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The noradrenergic link: Norepinephrine (NE) and the noradrenergic system play a main role in cognition and noradrenergic changes have been documented in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role of NE in AD has not been completely elucidated. Here, Zhang et al. show that β-amyloid oligomers are allosteric ligands of the α2A adrenergic receptor (α2AAR) and modulate NE signaling, redirecting the pathway toward GSK3β activation and subsequent tau hyperphosphorylation. Blocking α2AAR reduced tau phosphorylation and ameliorated pathological and cognitive abnormalities in AD mouse models. The brain noradrenergic system is critical for normal cognition and is affected at early stages in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we reveal a previously unappreciated direct role of norepinephrine signaling in connecting β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau, two key pathological components of AD pathogenesis. Our results show that Aβ oligomers bind to an allosteric site on α2A adrenergic receptor (α2AAR) to redirect norepinephrine-elicited signaling to glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) activation and tau hyperphosphorylation. This norepinephrine-dependent mechanism sensitizes pathological GSK3β/tau activation in response to nanomolar accumulations of extracellular Aβ, which is 50- to 100-fold lower than the amount required to activate GSK3β by Aβ alone. The significance of our findings is supported by in vivo evidence in two mouse models, human tissue sample analysis, and longitudinal clinical data. Our study provides translational insights into mechanisms underlying Aβ proteotoxicity, which might have strong implications for the interpretation of Aβ clearance trial results and future drug design and for understanding the selective vulnerability of noradrenergic neurons in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Rose bengal-functionalized porous organic polymer (RB-POP) was prepared with a specific surface area of up to 562 m2 g−1. In the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, RB-POP supported Ag(0) nanoparticles exhibited excellent performance for catalyzing cyclization of propargyl alcohols with CO2 at 30 °C, achieving a TOF of 5000 h−1, the highest value among the reported ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watermarking is a solution for copyright protection and forensics tracking, but recapturing and de-synchronization attacks may be used to effectively remove audio watermarks. Although much effort has been made in recent years, the robustness of audio watermarking against recapturing and de-synchronization attacks is still a challenging issue. Specifically, we first construct the frequency-domain coefficients logarithmic mean (FDLM) feature of digital audio. By theoretical analysis, we conclude that the residual of the two groups’ FDLM feature is robust against recapturing attack. We then propose a robust audio watermarking method based on this feature using the patchwork framework. Compared with the method having the best robustness performance against recapturing attack, the BER value of our method is decreased by 7%. Besides that, the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art patchwork-based watermarking methods notably, under recapturing and post-processed with signal processing operations and de-synchronization attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CO2-involved synthesis of chemicals is of great significance from the green and sustainable chemistry viewpoint. Herein, we report a non-noble metal catalytic system composed of CoF2, CsF and P(CH2CH2PPh2)3 (denoted as PP3) for the synthesis of N-containing heterocycles from ortho-substituted anilines and CO2/H2. Mechanism investigation indicates that [Co(PP3)H(CO2)]+ is a catalytically active intermediate under working conditions; and CsF plays important roles in activating ortho-substituted anilines via hydrogen bond interactions, thus promoting the formation of the final products. This catalytic system is highly efficient, and allows a wide scope of ortho-substituted anilines, together with excellent functional group tolerance, affording various N-containing heterocycles in good to excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]