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Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites are one of the most abundant DNA lesions and are mainly repaired by AP endonucleases (APEs). While most eukaryotic genomes encode two APEs, plants usually possess three APEs, namely APE1L, APE2, and ARP. To date, the biological relevance and functional divergence of plant APEs are unclear. Here, we show that the three plant APEs have ancient origins, with the APE1L clade being plant-specific. In Arabidopsis thaliana, simultaneously mutating APE1L and APE2, but not ARP alone or in combination with either APE1L or APE2, results in clear developmental defects linked to genotoxic stress. Genetic analyses indicated that the three plant APEs have different substrate preferences in vivo. ARP is mainly responsible for AP site repair, while APE1L and APE2 prefer to repair 3′-blocked single-stranded DNA breaks. We further determined that APEs play an important role in DNA repair and the maintenance of genomic integrity in meiotic cells. The ape1l ape2 double mutant exhibited a greatly enhanced frequency of sporulation 1 (SPO11-1)-dependent and SPO11-1-independent double-stranded DNA breaks. The DNA damage response (DDR) was activated in ape1l ape2 to trigger pollen abortion. Our findings suggest functional divergence of plant APEs and reveal important roles of plant APEs during vegetative and reproductive development.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a type of tumor with high malignant behaviors. Increasing investigates have confirmed that long non-coding RNA HLA complex group 18 (lncRNA HCG18) acted as a tumor-promoting factor in multiple tumors. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of HCG18 on OS remains largely unclear. HCG18, miR-34a, and runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) expressions were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) or western blotting assays, respectively. The underlying tumorigenic phenotypes were detected by MTT, wound healing, transwell invasion, western blotting assays. Molecular interactions were verified by dual-luciferase report assay. HCG18 and RUNX2 were notably enhanced, whereas miR-34a was decreased in OS tumor tissues and cell lines. Functional experiments uncovered that HCG18 silencing significantly inhibited the capabilities of proliferation, migration, and invasion, while overexpression of HCG18 play the opposite roles. Furthermore, HCG18 directly bound to miR-34a, and miR-34a was confirm to be a negative regulator of RUNX2. Interestingly, the anti-tumor effects of HCG18 silencing were attenuated by miR-34a inhibitor and RUNX2 overexpression. Taken together, the present study suggested that HCG18 promoted the malignant biological behaviors of OS through regulating the miR-34a/RUNX2 pathway, implying HCG18 might serve as a new target for OS treatment.

Bulk La2O3-Ga2O3-ZrO2 (LGZ) glass and Tm3+/Yb3+ co-doped LGZ glasses were synthesized successfully using containerless technique. Raman spectra result reveals that the matrix sample possesses the low highest phonon energy of ∼ 642 cm–1. The glasses show good compatibility between large Abbe numbers (>31) and high refractive indices (nd > 1.93). Moreover, transmittance measurements reflect the glasses have high infrared transmittance of ∼ 81.9%, small OH– absorption coefficient and long mid-infrared cut-off wavelengths (∼7.5 μm). The surface morphology of host glass was characterized by SEM micrograph and EDS tests reflect that the doped compositions are distributed into the matrix glass homogeneously. The results of thermal analysis show that the glasses have good thermal properties (Tg > 769 °C). Excited by 980 nm laser, an intense 1810 nm fluorescence is obtained originating from the transition: 3F4 → 3H6 of Tm3+ ion, accompanied by upconversion emission. It can be observed that 1810 nm fluorescence has the highest intensity at 1 mol% Yb2O3 and owns broad full width at half-maximum (>245 nm), the luminescence intensity of 3F4 → 3H6 transition increases with rising temperature from 300 to 550 K. Furthermore, the value of energy transfer efficiency shows that Yb3+ can transfer energy to Tm3+ effectively. By fitting the attenuation curves, the lifetimes of 1810 and 474 nm emission can be acquired.

Morphological novelties, including formation of trait combinations, may result from de novo gene origination and/or co-option of existing genes into other developmental contexts. A variety of shape-color combinations of capitular florets occur in Chrysanthemum and its allies. We hypothesized that co-option of a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase gene into the floral symmetry gene network would generate a white zygomorphic ray floret. We tested this hypothesis in an evolutionary context using species in Chrysanthemum sensu lato, a monophyletic group with diverse floral shape-color combinations, based on morphological investigation, interspecific crossing, molecular interaction and transgenic experiments. Our results showed that white color was significantly associated with floret zygomorphy. Specific expression of the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase gene CCD4a in marginal florets resulted in white color. Crossing experiments between Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium and Ajania pacifica indicated that expression of CCD4a is trans-regulated. The floral symmetry regulator CYC2g can activate expression of CCD4a with a dependence on TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING (TCP) binding element 8 on the CCD4a promoter. Based on all experimental findings, we propose that gene co-option of carotenoid degradation into floral symmetry regulation, and the subsequent dysfunction or loss of either CYC2g or CCD4a, may have led to evolution of capitular shape-color patterning in Chrysanthemum sensu lato.

The optimal fingerprinting method for detection and attribution of climate change is based on a multiple regression where each covariate has measurement error whose covariance matrix is the same as that of the regression error up to a known scale. Inferences about the regression coefficients are critical not only for making statements about detection and attribution but also for quantifying the uncertainty in important outcomes derived from detection and attribution analyses. When there is no errors-in-variables (EIV), the optimal weight matrix in estimating the regression coefficients is the precision matrix of the regression error which, in practice, is never known and has to be estimated from climate model simulations. We construct a weight matrix by inverting a nonlinear shrinkage estimate of the error covariance matrix that minimizes loss functions directly targeting the uncertainty of the resulting regression coefficient estimator. The resulting estimator of the regression coefficients is asymptotically optimal as the sample size of the climate model simulations and the matrix dimension go to infinity together with a limiting ratio. When EIVs are present, the estimator of the regression coefficients based on the proposed weight matrix is asymptotically more efficient than that based on the inverse of the existing linear shrinkage estimator of the error covariance matrix. The performance of the method is confirmed in finite sample simulation studies mimicking realistic situations in terms of the length of the confidence intervals and empirical coverage rates for the regression coefficients. An application to detection and attribution analyses of the mean temperature at different spatial scales illustrates the utility of the method.

IntroductionFor patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma, benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy remain controversial. Here, we aimed to evaluate such benefits.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study was conducted on the database of the National Taiwan Cancer Registry. We analyzed patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma (re-classified by AJCC 8th edition) diagnosed during the period from January 2011 to December 2017. They were divided into two groups: (1) group 1: tumor 3 cm, but ResultsA total of 2,100 patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma (1,265 in group 1 and 835 in group 2) were enrolled for study. The proportions of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy in group 1 and 2 were 39.1% and 68.6%, respectively. Amongst group 1 patients, adjuvant chemotherapy was not an independent risk factor for OS and CSS. Amongst group 2 patients, high-grade histologic findings and receiving sublobar resection were two risk factors for poorer survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy was also associated with an OS (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.38-0.72; PConclusionFor patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma, adjuvant chemotherapy improved OS and CSS in those with tumors >3 cm, but

Ferroptosis is a recognized novel form of programmed cell death pathway, featuring abnormalities in iron metabolism, SystemXc−/glutathione axis, and lipid peroxidation regulation. A variety of ferroptosis inducers can influence glutathione peroxidase directly or indirectly via diverse pathways, leading to decreased antioxidant capacity, accumulated cellular lipid peroxides, and finally inducing ferroptosis. To date, mounting studies confirm the association of ferroptosis with various cutaneous diseases, including skin homeostasis, neoplastic diseases, infectious diseases, genetic skin disease, inflammatory skin diseases, and autoimmune diseases. There are shared characteristics regarding ferroptosis and various cutaneous diseases in terms of pathophysiological mechanisms, such as oxidative stress associated with iron metabolism disorder and accumulated lipid peroxides. Therefore, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the mechanisms involved in the regulation of ferroptosis for further discussion of its role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of skin diseases. Gaining insight into the underlying mechanisms of ferroptosis and the associated dermatological disorders could illuminate the pathogenesis and treatments of different cutaneous diseases.

Additional file 8: Table S5. Syntenic gene pairs

Additional file 7: Table S4. Tandemly and segmentally duplicated birch TIFY gene pairs.

Mining the spatial and temporal correlation of wind farm output data is beneficial for enhancing the precision of ultra-short-term wind power prediction. However, if the wind farms are owned by separate entities, they may be reluctant to share their data directly due to privacy concerns as well as business management regulation policies. Although cryptographic approaches have been designed to protect privacy in the process of data sharing, it is still a challenging problem to encrypt the original data while extracting the nonlinear relationship among multiple wind farms in the machine learning process. This paper presents pwXGBoost, a technique based on the machine learning tree model and secure multi-party computation (SMPC) that can successfully extract complicated relationships while preserving data privacy. A maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) based scheme is proposed to effectively choose adjacent candidate wind farms to participate in the collaborative model training, therefore improving the accuracy and reducing the burden of data acquisition. The proposed method was evaluated on real world data collected from a cluster of wind farms in Inner Mongolia, China, demonstrating that it is capable of achieving considerable efficiency and performance improvements while preserving privacy

Additional file 13: Figure S4. Yeast two-hybrid experiments. The pGBKT7-Lam/pGADT7-T and pGBKT7-53/pGADT7-T co-transformed yeast cells were used as negative and positive control respectively.

Motivated by the connections between collaborative filtering and network clustering, we consider a network-based approach to improving rating prediction in recommender systems. We propose a novel Bipartite Mixed-Membership Stochastic Block Model ($\mathrm{BM}^2$) with a conjugate prior from the exponential family. We derive the analytical expression of the model and introduce a variational Bayesian expectation-maximization algorithm, which is computationally feasible for approximating the untractable posterior distribution. We carry out extensive simulations to show that $\mathrm{BM}^2$ provides more accurate inference than standard SBM with the emergence of outliers. Finally, we apply the proposed model to a MovieLens dataset and find that it outperforms other competing methods for collaborative filtering.

Additional file 8: Table S5. Syntenic gene pairs

Additional file 6: Table S3. List of TIFY genes from birch

Additional file 12: Figure S3. Phylogenetic analysis and multiple sequence alignment of TIFY family proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of different subfamily Arabidopsis, poplar and birch proteins. Full-length amino acid sequences were used for phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic tree was constructed using MrBayes 3.2.7

Supplementary Material 1

Additional file 7: Table S4. Tandemly and segmentally duplicated birch TIFY gene pairs.

Additional file 5: Table S2. List of subfamily

Additional file 11: Figure S2. Phylogenetic analysis and multiple sequence alignment of TIFY family proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of different subfamily Arabidopsis, popular and birch proteins. Full-length amino acid sequences were use for phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGAX with the Maximum Likehood method, 1000 repetitions of bootstrap tests, and JTT matrix-based model.

Additional file 4: Table S1. Sequence of TIFY proteins domain

Additional file 5: Table S2. List of subfamily

In principle, the local cosmic void can be simply modeled by the spherically symmetric Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) metric. In practice, the real local cosmic void is probably not spherically symmetric. In this paper, to reconstruct the realistic profile of the local cosmic void, we divide it into several segments. Each segment with certain solid angle is modeled by its own LTB metric. Meanwhile, we divide the 1048 type Ia supernovae (SNIa) of Pantheon into corresponding subsets according to their distribution in the galactic coordinate system. Obviously, each SNIa subset can only be used to reconstruct the profile of one segment. Finally, we can patch together an irregular profile for the local cosmic void with the whole Pantheon sample. But our constraints are too weak to challenge the cosmic homogeneity and the cosmic isotropy., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

Supplement 1

Additional file 9: Table S6. Primer sequences ofqRT-PCR, Subcellular localization and yeast two-hybrid

Additional file 1. Supplemental materials, figures and tables.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Baseline characteristics of 8289 included participants according to egg consumption.

Additional file 6: Table S3. List of TIFY genes from birch

Supplement 1

Additional file 10: Figure S1. Multiple sequence alignment of PPD proteins. Multiple sequence alignment of members from birch and Arabidopsis PPD subgroup. Multiple sequence alignment was performed using BioEdit software.

Additional file 9: Table S6. Primer sequences ofqRT-PCR, Subcellular localization and yeast two-hybrid

Additional file 1. Table S1. Demographics of patients whose skin samples were collected and Table S2 Primers for real-time PCR analysis.

Aquaculture is a vital economic and food source in numerous countries. However, because of environmental limitations and the impact of aquatic diseases, aquaculture requires considerable manpower, involves high material costs, and relies on the experience of aquaculturists to increase production capacity. Water quality is among the most crucial elements in aquaculture. Accordingly, in this paper, we propose an IoT-based smart aquaculture system (ISAS) for detecting the water quality of an aquafarm and providing automatic aeration to increase the survival rate of aquatics. In the ISAS, the parameters used for detecting water quality are temperature, pH value, dissolved oxygen, and water hardness, which are recorded using different sensors. Users can check the condition of an aquafarm from the sensed data. Moreover, the ISAS can automatically control the aerator and feeder of an aquarium on the basis of sensed data and predefined fuzzy rules. Our experiments revealed that under the same conditions, the shrimp survival rate in an ISAS-based aquarium increased by 33.3% compared with that in conventional aquariums. &nbsp

Long-lasting protective immune responses are expected following vaccination. However, most vaccines alone are inability to evoke an efficient protection. The combinatory administration of adjuvants with vaccines is critical for generating the enhanced immune responses. Herein, with biocompatible poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) as template, 2.5 nm iron/molybdenum oxide cluster, {Mo72Fe30}, is applied as an adjuvant to co-assemble with antigens of Mycobacterium bovis via hydrogen bonding at molecular scale. Molecular scale integration of the antigens and {Mo72Fe30} and their full exposure to body fluid media contribute to the augmentation of both humoral and cellular immune responses of the vaccines after inoculation in mice. Anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 gradually increases after 2 weeks followed by a final back to normal level by the 5th week. The balance between proinflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory factors suggests that immune system can be activated in the early stage of infection by the antigens carried by the supra-particles and secrete acute inflammatory factors for host defense and antiinflammatory factors for immune protection. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material (further structural analysis and biological analsyis) is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12274-021-4004-9.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) model using resource-based theory (RBT) and dimensions of big data analytics (management, technological, and talent) that influenced the firm innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach: The research uses quantitative research design where 548 respondents were selected for the survey from Pakistan electronic media regulatory authority (PEMRA), national database and registration authority (NADRA), and cellular companies. Only 394 useable responses were received from the respondents. Findings: The findings revealed that BDAC has a statistically positive impact on firm innovation performance. All of the proposed hypotheses were approved in this study. Research limitations/implications: The study gives future direction to the researchers and practitioners to implement this model in other industries. Practical implications: The research makes important theoretical and methodological contributions to the business and society's nexus in developing country firms that are under economic pressure. Originality/value: The paper is new in the context of the developing firm's innovation.

The abuse and improper disposal of antibiotics including metronidazole (MNZ) result in serious contamination in aquatic environments. In this study, pyrite, which was not reactive for MNZ removal, was simply mixed with zero valent iron (ZVI) to efficiently remove MNZ in anaerobic aqueous solutions. A dual ZVI/pyrite system consisting of ZVI (1.0 g/L) and pyrite (4.0 g/L) removed MNZ completely in 360 min within a broad pH0 range (5.0–9.0), and it still maintained a high removal efficiency (~80%) even at a high pH0 of 10.0. By contrast, single ZVI (1.0 g/L) showed much lower efficiency (4.8%–22.0%) within the same pH0 range (5.0–10.0). On investigating the mechanism of MNZ removal, the cooperation between ZVI and pyrite enhanced the surface corrosion of ZVI and facilitated the redox cycle of Fe(III)/Fe(II) to generate more sorbed Fe(II), which was a dominant reactive species for MNZ removal. Pyrite also activated the ZVI surface to form FeS@Fe in situ, accelerating the electron transfer from Fe0 core to the surface-enriched MNZ, and stimulated the formation of green rust sulfate on the ZVI surface to further promote MNZ removal. LC-MS analysis confirmed ZVI/pyrite reductively transformed MNZ into readily biodegradable products by denitration and cleavage of hydroxyethyl.

Background Previous studies have compared different kinds of fixations for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Nevertheless, there is no optimal method to date. To the best of authors’ knowledge, there is no article discussing the combination of adjustable suspensory device and interference screw for hybrid tibial fixation. Methods In total, 66 patients (n = 34, adjustable suspensory device and interference screw; n = 32, cortical screw and interference screw) were analyzed. Their International Knee Documentation Committee score and Tegner activity level scale were evaluated before and after a 2-year follow-up. The Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation score was evaluated after a 2-year follow-up. Physical exams such as range of motion, anterior knee pain (VAS > = 3) and Lachman test were assessed before and at least 12 months after surgery. To evaluate tunnel widening, anteroposterior and lateral view radiography was conducted 1 day and at least 12 months after surgery. A more than 10% change was considered tibial tunnel widening. Mann–Whitney U test, independent t test, paired t test, Fisher’s exact test and chi-squared test were used to compare the variables. Linear and logistic regression models were applied to adjust for potential confounders. Results No variable except gender (P = 0.006) showed significant difference with regard to demographic data. After adjustment, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding post-operative physical exams. Patients who used adjustable suspensory device and interference screw had lower post-operative Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation score (adjusted β − 8.194; P = 0.017), Tegner activity level scale (adjusted β − 1.295; P = 0.001) and pre-operative degrees of knee flexion (adjusted β − 2.825; P = 0.026). Less percentage of tunnel widening in the lateral view of radiographs was seen in patients in group of adjustable suspensory device and interference screw (adjusted β − 1.733; P = 0.038). No significant difference was observed in the anteroposterior view of radiographs (adjusted β − 0.667; P = 0.26). Conclusion In these 66 patients, we observed less tibial tunnel widening and lower post-operative functional scores in the group of adjustable suspensory device and interference screw. Both groups displayed similar outcomes of physical exams as well as improvement after operation. The proposed method may become an alternative option. Nonetheless, the quality of our study is still limited, and thus further studies are warranted to determine the efficacy and further application. Trial registration Joint Institutional Review Board of Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (No: N201805094). Study design Prospective comparative cohort study; Level of evidence, II.

Electron transfer (ET), electric double layer (EDL) charging, and ion transport (IT) are three elementary physicochemical processes in electrochemistry. These processes are coupled with each other in the way that the local reaction environment for the ET is shaped by EDL charging, which is nothing but IT in a nanoscale nonelectroneutral region. Herein, we investigate fingerprints of the coupling between these processes in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. EDL charging and IT are described uniformly using the Poisson–Nernst–Planck theory, and interfacial ET is described using the Frumkin–Butler–Volmer theory. Different diffusion coefficients for cations and anions ( D+ ≠ D−) are considered. Exact analytical expressions are obtained when the potential of zero charge ( Epzc), the equilibrium potential of the reaction ( Eeq), and electrode potential ( EM) are equal. The analytical solution shows that a decoupling treatment is valid only for the case of D+ = D−. Using a new scheme of calculating impedance response at any electrode potential, we observe an inductive loop in the low frequency range, which is a clear impedance fingerprint of the coupling effects.