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The heterogeneity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can prevent effective treatment, emphasizing the need for more effective therapies. Herein, we employed arsenene nanosheets coated with manganese dioxide and polyethylene glycol (AMPNs) for the degradation of Pin1, which is universally overexpressed in HCC. By employing an “AND gate”, AMPNs exhibited responsiveness toward excessive glutathione and hydrogen peroxide within the tumor microenvironment, thereby selectively releasing AsxOyto mitigate potential side effects of As2O3. Notably, AMPNs induced the suppressing Pin1 expression while simultaneously upregulation PD-L1, thereby eliciting a robust antitumor immune response and enhancing the efficacy of anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapy. The combination of AMPNs and anti-PD-1 synergistically enhanced tumor suppression and effectively induced long-lasting immune memory. This approach did not reveal As2O3-associated toxicity, indicating that arsenene-based nanotherapeutic could be employed to amplify the response rate of anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapy to improve the clinical outcomes of HCC patients and potentially other solid tumors (e.g., breast cancer) that are refractory to anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapy.

An estimated 240 fungicides are presently in use, but the direct targets for the majority remain elusive, constraining fungicide development and efficient resistance monitoring. In this study, we found that Pcα-actininknockout did not influence the sensitivity of Phytophthora capsicito fluopicolide, which is a notable oomycete inhibitor. Using a combination of Bulk Segregant Analysis Sequencing and Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability (DARTS) assays, the vacuolar H+-ATPase subunit a (PcVHA-a) was pinpointed as the target protein of fluopicolide. We also confirmed four distinct point mutations in PcVHA-a responsible for fluopicolide resistance in P. capsicithrough site-directed mutagenesis. Molecular docking, ATPase activity assays, and a DARTS assay suggested a fluopicolide-PcVHA-a interaction. Sequence analysis and further molecular docking validated the specificity of fluopicolide for oomycetes or fish. These findings support the claim that PcVHA-a is the target of fluopicolide, proposing vacuolar H+-ATPase as a promising target for novel fungicide development.

Frequency modulation continuous-wave radar will produce large-ranging errors when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Both traditional frequency thinning technology and band selection technology have complex modulation and filtering processes, and the processing steps are complex. To quickly fit more accurate signal frequency under the condition of a low SNR, this article proposes an improved sine curve-fitting (CF) method for signal frequency. This algorithm can not only fit the exact signal frequency, but also save the process of complex modulation and filtering, so it can estimate the signal frequency quickly and accurately. In frequency fitting, to avoid falling into local optimum when finding the solution coefficient in the fitting process, a new particle optimal fitting algorithm (PSO-CF) is combined with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the CF algorithm. The algorithm can quickly find the optimal solution coefficient and fit the curve waveform closer to the original signal. Because the PSO algorithm is influenced by the initial value in the iterative sine curve parameters, fast Fourier transform (FFT) is used to roughly estimate the carrier signal frequency, and the signal frequency roughly estimated by FFT is used as the initial value of the PSO algorithm iteration. Simulation and radar tests show that the improved sine CF algorithm can quickly and accurately fit the signal frequency to be estimated.

A high power quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) efficiently-cooled ceramic slab laser oscillator is reported. The maximum output power can reach 9.85 kW with the optical-to-optical efficiency of 60% with respect to the absorbed pump power as well as the slope efficiency up to 65.3%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power for any Yb:YAG ceramic laser oscillator. Beam aberration of the efficiently-cooled Yb:YAG ceramic slab laser is detected by a parallel probe beam along the optical path of laser beam. The peak-to-valley (PV) value of the wavefront distortion is $2.8~\mu \text{m}$ under full output power. The beam quality factor $\beta $ is estimated to be about 3.7 times diffraction limit while without additional correction system. A numerical model of temperature field is constructed to analyze the wavefront distortion of the probe beam, and the calculated results are in agreement with the experimental data.

We describe a high-peak-power macro/micro pulse 1319 nm laser operation, which is produced by the acousto-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG oscillator that is side-pumped with quasi- continuous-wave laser diode. Under remaining a fixed macro pulse repetition frequency of 400 Hz, the lasing characteristics for different micro pulse schemes are investigated. To realize 1319 nm single wavelength oscillation, a birefringence-plate is employed to suppress the adjacent 1338 nm line. Under 390 W of pump power with $200 ~\mu \text{s}$ of pulse duration, an average Q-switched 1319 nm power is increased from 32.5 W to 51.5 W by increasing the repetition rate of micro pulse from 400 Hz to 1600 Hz, and the corresponding micro pulse width can be stretched from 124 ns to 154 ns. The calculated maximum peak power is 0.655 MW with a pulse energy of 81.2 mJ, which is the highest-result reported to date for Q-switched 1319 nm lasers.

We present a kilowatt-level quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) cryogenically cooled 946-nm slab laser oscillator for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The laser system is based on a double-face-pumped large-size single-slab Nd:YAG design, delivering a record-high average power of 1.06 kW without additional amplification. This laser oscillator operates at repetition rate of 400 Hz with a pulse duration of 175 µs, resulting in a single pulse energy of 2.65 J. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the highest output power and pulse energy for any all-solid-state 946-nm laser ever reported to date. Our scheme paves a new path for the development of the compact high-power solid-state 946-nm laser.

Badam shells are a common type of fruit shell waste, yet there is scarce research on using them to produce biochar and applying it in the field of denitrification. This study aimed to utilize badam shells as raw material to produce biochar and evaluate the feasibility of badam shell biochar (BC) as a carrier for denitrification catalysts. Badam shells were carbonized under a N2atmosphere at 600 °C for 120 min to prepare badam shell biochar. After treating BC with acid (H3PO4or HNO3), Mn or Fe is loaded to obtain denitrification catalysts (BC-HN-Mn, BC-HN-Fe, BC-HP-Mn, and BC-HP-Fe). These catalysts exhibit high denitrification activity within the temperature range of 100–300 °C (>80 %, and exceeding 90 % at 250–300 °C). Moreover, they are characterized by a large number of acidic sites and adsorbed oxygen species distributed on their surface, demonstrating excellent resistance to sulfur dioxide poisoning and maintaining high denitrification activity under low oxygen conditions. This study provides a reference for the application of badam shell in Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology.

A compact and robust all-solid-state mid-infrared (MIR) laser at 6.45 µm with high average output power and near-Gaussian beam quality is demonstrated. A maximum output power of 1.53 W with a pulse width of approximately 42?ns at 10 kHz is achieved using a ZnGeP_2 (ZGP) optical parametric oscillator (OPO). This is the highest average power at 6.45 µm of any all-solid-state laser to the best of our knowledge. The average beam quality factor is measured to be M^2?=?1.19. Moreover, high output power stability is confirmed, with a power fluctuation of less than 1.35% rms over 2 h, and the laser can run efficiently for more than 500 h in total. Using this 6.45 µm pulse as a radiation source, ablation of animal brain tissue is tested. Furthermore, the collateral damage effect is theoretically analyzed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, and the results indicate that this MIR laser has excellent ablation ability, making it a potential replacement for free electron lasers.

Emerging evidence shows that chronic inflammation mediated by toll-like receptors (TLRs) contributes to diabetic nephropathy. Myeloid differentiation primary-response protein-88 (MyD88) is an essential adapter protein of all TLRs except TLR3 in innate immunity. It is unclear whether MyD88 could be a therapeutic target for diabetic nephropathy. Here, we used a new small-molecule MyD88 inhibitor, LM8, to examine the pharmacological inhibition of MyD88 in protecting kidneys from inflammatory injury in diabetes. We showed that MyD88 was significantly activated in the kidney of STZ-induced type 1 diabetic mice in tubular epithelial cells as well as in high glucose-treated rat tubular epithelial cells NRK-52E. In cultured tubular epithelial cells, we show that LM8 (2.5−10 μM) or MyD88 siRNA attenuated high-concentration glucose-induced inflammatory and fibrogenic responses through inhibition of MyD88-TLR4 interaction and downstream NF-κB activation. Treatment with LM8 (5, 10 mg/kg, i.g.) significantly reduced renal inflammation and fibrosis and preserved renal function in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic mice. These renoprotective effects were associated with reduced MyD88-TLR4 complex formation, suppressed NF-κB signaling, and prevention of inflammatory factor expression. Collectively, our results show that hyperglycemia activates MyD88 signaling cascade to induce renal inflammation, fibrosis, and dysfunction. Pharmacological inhibition of MyD88 may be a therapeutic approach to mitigate diabetic nephropathy and the inhibitor LM8 could be a potential candidate for such therapy.

Cell reprogramming has wide applications in tissue regeneration, disease modelling and personalized medicine. In addition to biochemical cues, mechanical forces also contribute to the modulation of the epigenetic state and a variety of cell functions through distinct mechanisms that are not fully understood. Here we show that millisecond deformation of the cell nucleus caused by confinement into microfluidic channels results in wrinkling and transient disassembly of the nuclear lamina, local detachment of lamina-associated domains in chromatin and a decrease of histone methylation (histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation) and DNA methylation. These global changes in chromatin at the early stage of cell reprogramming boost the conversion of fibroblasts into neurons and can be partially reproduced by inhibition of histone H3 lysine 9 and DNA methylation. This mechanopriming approach also triggers macrophage reprogramming into neurons and fibroblast conversion into induced pluripotent stem cells, being thus a promising mechanically based epigenetic state modulation method for cell engineering.

For reshaping aperture size and correcting low-order aberration of laser beams with large aspect ratios, a simplified analytical method is proposed to design an anamorphic refractive shaping system, which is composed of double-plane symmetric lenses. The simplified method enables performing a global study of aberrations via calculating the analytical primary wave aberration function under paraxial approximation. The aberration balance is analyzed with a three-lens laser collimating system and a compact four-lens laser expanding system. Lens bending and conic surfaces are introduced to decrease ray errors. Through the simplified analytical method, anamorphic refractive shaping systems for laser beams with large aspect ratios can be adequately analyzed and conveniently designed.

Recent research on whole slide imaging (WSI) has greatly promoted the development of digital pathology. However, accurate autofocusing is still the main challenge for WSI acquisition and automated digital microscope. To address this problem, this paper describes a low cost WSI system and proposes a fast, robust autofocusing method based on deep learning. We use a programmable LED array for sample illumination. Before the brightfield image acquisition, we turn on a red and a green LED, and capture a color-multiplexed image, which is fed into a neural network for defocus distance estimation. After the focus tracking process, we employ a low-cost DIY adaptor to digitally adjust the photographic lens instead of the mechanical stage to perform axial position adjustment, and acquire the in-focus image under brightfield illumination. To ensure the calculation speed and image quality, we build a network model based on a ‘light weight’ backbone network architecture-MobileNetV3. Since the color-multiplexed coherent illuminated images contain abundant information about the defocus orientation, the proposed method enables high performance of autofocusing. Experimental results show that the proposed method can accurately predict the defocus distance of various types of samples and has good generalization ability for new types of samples. In the case of using GPU, the processing time for autofocusing is less than 0.1 second for each field of view, indicating that our method can further speed up the acquisition of whole slide images.

A high-power continuous-wave (CW) ultraviolet (UV) laser at 378 nm from an intracavity frequency-doubled Alexandrite laser has been demonstrated with 638 nm fiber-coupled laser diodes as the pump source. A maximum output power of 2.55 W was obtained, which is the highest power for CW frequency-doubled Alexandrite lasers, to the best of our knowledge, corresponding to the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 7.9% from 638 nm pump laser to 378 nm UV laser. The beam quality factors M^2 were measured to be 2.19 and 2.47 in x and y directions at UV output power of 1 W, respectively.

High-power solid-state lasers with good beam quality are attracting great attention on account of their important applications in industry and military. However, the thermal effects generated in the laser host materials seriously limit power scaling and degrade the beam quality. Thermal lensing and thermally induced wavefront deformation are the main causes of the beam quality deterioration. Here we investigate the performance of a zero thermal expansion (ZTE) solid-state laser gain material. In a proof-of-principle experiment, an ${a}$-cut rod ${\rm Nd}\!:\!{{\rm YAlO}_3}$ (Nd:YAP) perovskite crystal is chosen to be the gain medium for ZTE around 180 K. The laser performance spanning the temperature range from 80 to 290 K is studied. The maximum output power and minimum threshold pump power were obtained at a temperature of 180 K. Moreover, the measured thermal focal power and peak-to-valley value of the wavefront distortion also reach a minimum at this temperature, an additional benefit from the crystal’s ZTE coefficient. We envisage that these results will open a new route towards the development of high-power and high-beam-quality lasers through the use of ZTE gain materials.

Mitochondria undergo fission and fusion that are critical for cell survival and cancer development, while the regulatory factors for mitochondrial dynamics remain elusive. Herein we found that RNA m6A accelerated mitochondria fusion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Metabolomics analysis and function studies indicated that m6A triggered the generation of glutathione (GSH) via the upregulation of RRM2B—a p53-inducible ribonucleotide reductase subunit with anti-reactive oxygen species potential. This in turn resulted in the mitochondria fusion of CRC cells. Mechanistically, m6A methylation of A1240 at 3′UTR of RRM2Bincreased its mRNA stability via binding with IGF2BP2. Similarly, m6A methylation of A2212 at the coding sequence (CDS) of OPA1—an essential GTPase protein for mitochondrial inner membrane fusion—also increased mRNA stability and triggered mitochondria fusion. Targeting m6A through the methyltransferase inhibitor STM2457 or the dm6ACRISPR system significantly suppressed mitochondria fusion. In vivoand clinical data confirmed the positive roles of the m6A/mitochondrial dynamics in tumor growth and CRC progression. Collectively, m6A promoted mitochondria fusion via induction of GSH synthesis and OPA1 expression, which facilitated cancer cell growth and CRC development.

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Background: Postoperative urination dysfunction is a common complication after surgery in patients with cervical cancer. Portable bladder ultrasound are commonly utilized in clinical practice for measuring residual urine volume. This study aimed to the effect of bladder function training combined with portable ultrasound monitoring on bladder function recovery in patients with cervical cancer after training.Methods: A total of 40 postoperative patients with cervical cancer were randomly divided into a control group (A) and an experimental group (B) of 20 cases each. Group A was given routine postoperative care, while group B was given bladder function training. Urgent urine bladder volume were taken twice daily after removal of the urinary catheter and monitored for five consecutive days. The difference of urgent urine bladder volume and bladder filling rate were compared by t-test and chi-square test respectively. The 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate the quality of life of patients before and after intervention, and compared by Mann-Whitney Utest.Results: There was no significant difference in preoperative urgent urine volume between the two groups. After catheter removal, the bladder volume of patients in the B increased, while the bladder volume of patients in the A increased less and fluctuated greatly. The bladder filling rate in the A was significantly lower than that in the B (5/15 vs 17/18, p< 0.05). After intervention, the quality of life of the experimental group was better than that of the control group, including scores of general health, mental health, vitality, and physical role (p< 0.05).Conclusion: Postoperative cervical cancer patients trained to hold urine by portable ultrasound monitoring are able to recover bladder function.

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a promising target for cancer immunotherapy due to its ability to inhibit T cell activation; however, its expression on various noncancer cells may cause on-target off-tumor toxicity when designing PD-L1-targeting Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapies. Combining rational design and directed evolution of the human fibronectin-derived monobody scaffold, “PDbody” was engineered to bind to PD-L1 with a preference for a slightly lower pH, which is typical in the tumor microenvironment. PDbody was further utilized as a CAR to target the PD-L1-expressing triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. To mitigate on-target off-tumor toxicity associated with targeting PD-L1, a Cluster of Differentiation 19 (CD19)-recognizing SynNotch IF THEN gate was integrated into the system. This CD19-SynNotch PDbody-CAR system was then expressed in primary human T cells to target CD19-expressing MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. These CD19-SynNotch PDbody-CAR T cells demonstrated both specificity and efficacy in vitro, accurately eradicating cancer targets in cytotoxicity assays. Moreover, in an in vivobilateral murine tumor model, they exhibited the capability to effectively restrain tumor growth. Overall, CD19-SynNotch PDbody-CAR T cells represent a distinct development over previously published designs due to their increased efficacy, proliferative capability, and mitigation of off-tumor toxicity for solid tumor treatment.

Transition metal iron, because of its high oxygen mobility, excellent thermal stability and low price, is often used in the study of RWGS reaction. However, the bottleneck problem of iron-based catalysts is the poor CO2conversion rate. Herein, the Fe/CeO2composite catalyst with Fe-O-Ce was successfully constructed, which has both high CO2conversion and high CO selectivity for the low-temperature RWGS reaction. Furthermore, the influence of Fe0contents is studied, and the result indicated that the CO2conversion rate and CO selectivity are up to 50.05% and 100% at 500 ºC by the use of 20Fe/CeO2. Moreover, CeO2is the best catalyst holder than the others. The physical and chemical properties of the catalysts are investigated by in-situXPS, XRD, low-temperature N2absorption-desorption (BET) and CO2-TPD. Nano zero-valent iron (Fe0) is the main active center for the RWGS reaction, which easily releases the outer electrons to activate reactant molecules. The introduction of the CeO2is conducive to the high dispersion of Fe0nanoparticles and the formation of abundant active centers. With the increase of Fe loading, the electron-rich Fe0induces a strong electronic effect on the electron-deficient CeO2. The regularity of catalyst are changed by a large amount of zero-valent iron entering into the CeO2lattice, then formed a lot of Fe-O-Ce solid solution. A large amount of zero-valent iron enter into the CeO2lattice, inhibiting the grain growth and aggregation of monometallic species, and promoting nano Fe species highly dispersed on CeO2carriers, leading more active centers exposure. Meanwhile, the abundant oxygen vacancy on xFe/CeO2surface is advantage for the adsorption and activation of H2and CO2molecules. Therefore, the coupling and electronic synergistic effects of the active component Fe0and the carrier CeO2make xFe/CeO2becoming a promising candidate catalyst for RWGS reaction.

Mefentrifluconazole, a triazole fungicide, exhibits remarkable efficacy in combating Fusariumspp. The mean EC50value of mefentrifluconazole against 124 isolates of Fusarium pseudograminearumwas determined to be 1.06 μg/mL in this study. Fungicide taming produced five mefentrifluconazole-resistant mutants with resistance factors ranging from 19.21 to 111.34. Compared to the original parental isolates, the fitness of three resistant mutants was much lower, while the remaining two mutants displayed enhanced survival fitness. There was evidence of positive cross-resistance between tebuconazole and mefentrifluconazole. Mefentrifluconazole resistance in F. pseudograminearumcan be conferred by FpCYP51BL144F, which was identified in four mutants according to molecular docking and site-directed transformation experiments. Overexpression of FpCYP51swas also detected in the resistant mutants. In conclusion, mefentrifluconazole has a low-to-medium resistance risk in F. pseudograminearum, and the L144F mutation in FpCYP51B and the increased expression level of FpCYP51smay be responsible for mefentrifluconazole resistance in F. pseudograminearum.

A series of star-shaped molecules T(OCAn)Ps (n= 2–6) based on porphyrin as a core and oligocarbazole as monodisperse arms has been investigated by steady-state spectroscopy, femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculations. UV–visible absorption spectra and quantum chemical calculation reveal that there is conjugation between the first carbazole units (the nearest to porphyrin) and porphyrin core but not between the neighboring carbazole units. The photo-excitation of T(OCAn)Ps results in efficient intramolecular energy transfer from the oligocarbazole (donor) to the porphyrin core (acceptor). The intramolecular energy-transfer time constants in T(OCAn)Ps (n= 2–6) obtained by global analysis of the femtosecond TA spectra are in the range of 0.60–22.27 ps. It is confirmed that the light-harvesting capability of porphyrin core could be improved by covalently linked oligocarbazole arms, while the excitation energy-transfer efficiency remains above 99%. This work provides a combined experimental-theoretical elucidation of ultrafast intramolecular energy-transfer processes, which could help develop novel star-shaped materials to achieve higher efficiency and better light-harvesting capability.

A stable, 22.9 W, 671 nm single-frequency laser using a type II noncritically phase-matched external-cavity frequency doubling is demonstrated. The output power of the fundamental laser is 32.1 W; the corresponding conversion efficiency of frequency doubling from 1342 to 671 nm is calculated to be 71.3%. The M^2 factors are measured to be 1.10 and 1.08 in the x and y directions, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, 22.9 W is the highest power obtained for a 671 nm single-frequency laser.

Our aim was to investigate the bioactivity and mode of action of a novel fungicide 4-chlorocinnamaldehyde thiosemicarbazide (PMDD). As a result of its efficacy against various plant pathogens, its protective fungicidal activity, and systemic transport after root treatment, PMDD could be a promising fungicide to control wheat root diseases. In a field assay, PMDD showed good control efficacy on wheat take-all disease. A biochemical study indicated that PMDD acts as a laccase inhibitor, a to date unique mode of fungicidal action. Moreover, a total of seven stable PMDD-resistant Gaeumannomyces graminisvar. tritici(Ggt) mutants were generated and demonstrated no cross-resistance with any commercial fungicides used for take-all disease control, and the gene expression profile further confirmed that laccase could be the target of PMDD. Taken together, we conclude that PMDD is a laccase inhibitor and could be used on wheat to control take-all diseases. The current study could strongly benefit the registration and application of PMDD.

A 100 W level kilohertz repetition-rate microsecond (µs)-pulse all-solid-state sodium beacon laser at 589 nm is demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, via combining two independent µs-pulsed lasers. Each beamlet is generated by the sum-frequency mixing of pulsed 1064 and 1319 nm lasers in a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal, which operate at 500 Hz pulse repetition frequency with 61 W $p$p-polarized and 53 W $s$s-polarized output, respectively. An incoherent sequence combining technology of polarized laser beams is employed to add the two beamlets. The average power of the combined beam is up to 107.5 W with a combining efficiency of 94.3%. The combined beam has a 1 kHz repetition rate with ${\sim}{120}\;\unicode{x00B5} {\rm s}$∼120µs pulse duration and beam quality ${M^2} = {1.41}$M^2=1.41. The central wavelength with a linewidth of ${\sim}{0.3}\;{\rm GHz}$∼0.3GHz is locked to a sodium ${{\rm D}_{2a}}$D_2a absorption line. To the best of our knowledge, this is a record-high power operating at kilohertz for µs-pulsed solid-state sodium beacon lasers.

We present a power-scalable high-power single-frequency continuous-wave 1342 nm master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system that consists of a polarized single-frequency 1342 nm LD seed laser, a Raman fiber preamplifier, and a three-stage ${\rm Nd}:{{\rm YVO}_4}$Nd:YVO_4 power amplifier. The single-frequency output power of 30 W at 1342 nm is achieved with the beam quality factors ${{\rm M}^{2\:}} = {1}.{26}$M^2=1.26, and the power stability for 1 h is better than ${\pm }\;{0}.{5}\% $±0.5%.

A void-free bonding technique was demonstrated for a large slab Nd: YAG crystal with a bonding surface dimension of $\sim{160}\;{\rm mm} \times {70}\;{\rm mm}$∼160mm×70mm. By using the novel fluxless oxide layer removal technology, the indium-oxide barrier problem was resolved. With the help of electrochemical-polished indium solder and a plasma-cleaned heat sink, the solderability of the indium was enhanced; in particular, the contact angle of the solder was improved from 51° to 31°. With the largest-bonding-size slab, a single-slab laser created a maximum output power of 7.3 kW under an absorbed pump power of 12.8 kW, corresponding to an optical to optical efficiency of 57% and a slope conversion of 67.8%. By detecting the wavefront of the interferometer before and after bonding, the RMS of wavefront was ${0.192}\lambda $0.192λ and ${0.434}\lambda $0.434λ ($\lambda = {633}\;{\rm nm}$λ=633nm), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest void-free bonding size for a laser slab and the highest output power achieved from a single-slab crystal laser oscillator.

Selective laser melted Rene88DT specimens with columnar grains (specimen C) and near-equiaxed grains (specimen E) were fabricated, on which solution-aging and direct aging treatments were applied, respectively. The evolution of microstructures and hardness of both specimens was investigated. Results show that specimen C showed columnar grains with aspect ratio of 3.6 and 5% difference in hardness between vertical and horizontal directions, while specimen E with near-equiaxed grains (aspect ratio of 1-2) was isotropic. The as-deposited alloys consisted of γ-matrix, carbides and Laves phases. After solution-aging treatment, equiaxed grains (56 μm) with annealing twins, blocky μ phases (1 μm) and dispersively distributed γ′ (40 nm) were observed in specimen C. After direct aging treatment, rod-like γ′ phases with 40 nm in length and 15 nm in diameter were precipitated in specimen E. Specimen E showed higher hardness than specimen C because of stronger grain boundary strengthening, substructure strengthening and second-phase strengthening.

Triticum aestivumL. cv.Guizi 1 (GZ1) is a drought-tolerant local purple wheat cultivar. It is not clear how purple wheat resists drought stress, but it could be related to anthocyanin biosynthesis. In this study, transcriptome data from drought-treated samples and controls were compared. Drought slightly reduced the anthocyanin, protein and starch contents of GZ1 grains and significantly reduced the grain weight. Under drought stress, 16 682 transcripts were reduced, 27 766 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and 379 DEGs, including DREBs, were related to defense response. The defense-response genes included response to water deprivation, reactive oxygen, bacteria, fungi, etc. Most of the structural and regulatory genes in anthocyanin biosynthesis were downregulated, with only TaDFR, TaOMT, Ta5, 3GT, and TaMYB-4B1being upregulated. TaCHS, TaF3H, TaCHI, Ta4CL, and TaF3'Hare involved in responses to UV, hormones, and stimulus. TaCHS-2D1, TaDFR-2D2, TaDFR-7D, TaOMT-5A, Ta5,3GT-1B1, Ta5,3GT-3A, and Ta5,3GT-7B1 connect anthocyanin biosynthesis with other pathways, and their interacting proteins are involved in primary metabolism, genetic regulation, growth and development, and defense responses. There is further speculation about the defense-responsive network in purple wheat. The results indicated that biotic and abiotic stress-responsive genes were stimulated to resist drought stress in purple wheat GZ1, and anthocyanin biosynthesis also participated in the drought defense response through several structural genes.

The poor interfacial compatibility between solid electrolyte and lithium metal anode is one of the main obstacles to the development of solid lithium metal battery. Herein, the poly (1,3-dioxolane) (PDOL) polymer is combined with g-C3N4powders to form a flexible and dense composite solid electrolyte film, which not only possesses high ionic conductivity of 3.7 × 10−4S·cm−1, high ion migration number up to 0.86, and wide electrochemical stability window of 5.0 V, but also is helpful for inhibiting the growth of lithium dendrites to improve the interfacial stability of the lithium anode and close contact with cathode. The prepared S/g-C3N4-PDOL/Li battery exhibits good rate and cycle performances with a capacity of 550 mAh g−1at 1 C, and 1150 mAh g−1at 0.1 C with a capacity retention rate of 83% after 100 cycles. The dense Li3N layer generated by the reaction between g-C3N4and Li gives g-C3N4/PDOL composite electrolyte a high inhibition ability of lithium dendrites. This composite solid electrolyte film with an interface modification function has good practical application prospects in lithium-sulfur batteries.

The neutron capture cross sections (n,γ) of bromine were obtained using the time-of-flight technique at the Back-n facility of the China Spallation Neutron Source. Prompt γ-rays originating from neutron-induced capture events were detected using four C6D6detectors. The pulse-height weighting technique and double-bunch unfolding method based on Bayesian theory were used in the data analysis. Background deductions, normalization, and corrections were carefully considered to obtain reliable measurement results. The multilevel R-matrix Bayesian code SAMMY was used to extract the resonance parameters in the resolved resonance region (RRR). The average cross sections in the unresolved resonance region (URR) were obtained from 10 to 400 keV. The experimental results were compared with data from several evaluated libraries and previous experiments in the RRR and URR. The TALYS code was used to describe the average cross sections in the URR. The astrophysical Maxwell average cross sections (MACSs) of 79,81Br from kT= 5 to 100 keV were calculated over a sufficiently wide range of neutron energies. At a thermal energy of kT=30keV, the MACS value for 79Br 682±68 mb was in good agreement with the KADoNiS v1.0 recommended value. By contrast, the value of 293±29 mb for 81Br was substantially higher than that of the evaluated database and the KADoNiS v1.0 recommended value.

We report a compact, long nanosecond (ns) pulse duration stretched laser source by a multi-pass cavity (MPC). Based on the combination of the MPC and pump power, a high-power high beam quality 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a pulse duration adjustable over the range of 160–1000 ns was obtained at a pulse repetition frequency of 10 kHz for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. At a typical pulse width of 560 ns, an average output power of 10.6 W was successfully achieved. The beam quality factor M^2 was measured to be 1.45 with a good Gaussian mode.

Slab gain media with large aspect ratios were difficult to be adopted in ultrafast regenerative amplifiers (RAs) due to the obstacle of mode matching with the seed beam. We proposed that an unstable cavity could be employed to solve this difficulty by taking the advantage of its large fundamental mode volume. In this way, an Nd:YVO_4 slab-based picosecond RA has been successfully demonstrated using a stable-unstable hybrid cavity. The maximum average output power of 10.5 W was achieved at the repetition rate of 10 kHz. The beam quality factor M^2 was measured to be 1.54 in the stable direction and 2.26 in the unstable direction.

A novel rhodium-catalyzed tandem reaction of isocyanides with azides and various oxygen nucleophiles has been developed. The reaction provides a simple and highly efficient one-pot synthesis of various N-sulfonyl/acylisoureas with broad substrate scope in an atom-economical manner from readily available starting materials in a highly stereoselective manner.

We report a high-energy single-frequency deep-ultraviolet (DUV) solid-state laser at 167.079 nm by the eighth-harmonic generation of a diode-pumped Nd:LGGG laser. A maximum DUV laser output energy of 1.5 μJ at a 5 Hz repetition rate with a 200 μs pulse duration is achieved. The central wavelength of the DUV laser is located at 167.079 nm and can be finely tuned from 167.075 to 167.083 nm. The linewidth is estimated to be 0.025 pm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Letter reporting a high-energy single-frequency solid-state DUV laser below 170 nm. The successful demonstration of the high-energy single-frequency DUV laser source with the unique wavelength is useful for direct detection of a Al^+27 ion via resonance fluorescence in a multi-ion optical clock.

Plant litter decomposition is one of the most important links connecting plants to the soil through the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. Climate change scenarios predict changes in precipitation and N deposition, and previous studies have demonstrated that increases in the availability of water and N affect the litter decomposition rate and nutrient release. We studied the effects of increased N deposition and precipitation on changes in the remaining mass and the C and N contents of shoot litter after decomposition in a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. The treatments included the addition of NH4NO3at rates equivalent to 0, 25, 50, and 100 kg∙N∙ha−2yr−1with and without added water. The addition of water proved to be a more effective practice than amendment with NH4NO3for improving the litter decomposition rate; the addition of water significantly increased the rate of litter decomposition (P< 0.001), whereas the addition of N alone had no apparent effect on litter mass loss. However, a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the interaction of water and N significantly affected both mass loss and litter N content (P< 0.05), and a linear relationship was identified between litter mass loss and litter decomposition time (P< 0.001). No correlation was found between litter mass loss and organic C content, but a significant positive correlation was found between residual litter mass and N content (P< 0.01). Although the study was conducted over a relatively short period, our results indicate that increased precipitation could potentially promote litter decomposition, whereas increased N input has little effect. The effects of time on litter mass loss and residual C and N concentrations indicate the need for long-term trials that measure the complete process of litter decomposition and the peaks of C and N release.

We have proposed a novel approach to realize a high-energy ultrafast optical parametric oscillator (OPO) by intracavity pumping in a regenerative amplifier. In this way, we have experimentally demonstrated an unprecedented pulse energy of 30.5 μJ from a 1.5-μm singly resonant synchronously pumped OPO at a pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz with a pulse width of 7.0 ps. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest pulse energy from an ultrafast laser OPO.

Recent evidence has suggested novel roles of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in tumorigenicity. However, the roles of C/D box snoRNA U76 (SNORD76) in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. Herein, we systematically evaluated dysregulation of snoRNAs in HCC and clarified the biomarker potential and biological significance of SNORD76 in HCC.

A pulse width adjustable 1064 nm Q-switched cavity dumped Nd:YVO_4 laser was realized for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, by rotating an intracavity quarter-wave plate (QWP) and a Pockels cell (PC). The pulse width adjustment range was 4.8–7.8 ns with a constant output power of 3.6 W, and it reached 4.8–13.5 ns for a lower output power of 1.3 W. The pulse width was dependent mostly on the rotating angle of the QWP and PC, but independent of the gain and pulse repetition rate.

提要:第一届中国语言学青年学者论坛于2016年10月15日至16日在南开大学召 开。本次会议由南开大学文学院、南开大学语言所、北京语言大学语言 病理及脑科学研究所,及英文版中国语言学报 (Journal of Chinese Linguistics) 出版办公室共同举办。来自中国内地、香港和台湾的近50 位青年学者参加了本次会议，还有多位青年教师和博士研究生列席旁听。国际著名语言学家、 Journal of Chinese Linguistics(英文版中国 语言学报)主编、香港理工大学讲席教授王士元先生出席了本次论坛幷 做开幕报告，题目为"语言的来龙去脉"。另一个主题报告来自南开大 学教授、北京语言大学银龄学者石锋先生，题目为"实验语言学十问"。 在大会主题报告外，青年学者们分别介绍了自己的研究成果，内容涉及 语言与大脑、语言作为一个复杂适应系统、语言的历时与共时研究、汉 藏语历史比较等研究领域。来自南开大学和天津师范大学的8位教授和 博士生导师对青年学者的研究进行了点评，论坛专门安排时间为与会学 者进行讨论。另外，论坛还在晚上举办联谊茶话会，使参会学者深入交 流，彼此互相学习。鉴于参加论坛的除博士生外，还有很多高校的青年教师，原来 的"中国语言学博士论坛"决定改名为"中国语言学青年学者论坛"。 POLA 是 Project of Linguistic Analysis 的缩写，是王士元先生６０年代 分别在美国俄亥俄州立大学和加州大学伯克利分校以研究中国语言为重 点的语言学实验研究项目及方向。来自世界不同国家，有着不同学科专 业的学者曾来到 POLA 试验室办公楼，做试验研究，在这里定期讨论， 作报告，交流合作。 Journal of Chinese Linguistics(英文版中国语言学报) 就诞生于加州大学。王士元先生在讨论会期间指出，在 POLA 的50余年 历程中，POLA 实证性(empirical)，国际化(international)，及多学科(multidisciplinary) 的实践使其研究合作模式形成，幷有效的展现在我们中国多 种语言的研究工作中。这就是 POLA 的精神。希望广大青年学者能继续 发扬 POLA 精神，努力促进和推动中国语言学的发展。（另见本文首页 英文脚注１）今后，每年的中国语言学青年学者论坛都将在南开大学举办。

The need is pressing to investigate soil CO2(carbon dioxide) emissions and soil organic carbon dynamics under water-saving irrigation practices in agricultural systems for exploring the potentials of soil carbon sequestration. A field experiment was conducted to compare the influences of drip irrigation (DI) and flood irrigation (FI) on soil organic carbon dynamics and the spatial and temporal variations in CO2emissions during the summer maize growing season in the North China Plain using the static closed chamber method. The mean CO2efflux over the growing season was larger under DI than that under FI. The cumulative CO2emissions at the field scale were 1959.10 and 1759.12 g/m2under DI and FI, respectively. The cumulative CO2emission on plant rows (OR) was larger than that between plant rows (BR) under FI, and the cumulative CO2emission on the irrigation pipes (OP) was larger than that between irrigation pipes (BP) under DI. The cumulative CO2emissions of OP, BP and bare area (BA) under DI were larger than those of OR, BR and BA under FI, respectively. Additionally, DI promoted root respiration more effectively than FI did. The average proportion of root respiration contributing to the soil CO2emissions of OP under DI was larger than that of OR under FI. A general conclusion drawn from this study is that soil CO2emission was significantly influenced by the soil water content, soil temperature and air temperature under both DI and FI. Larger concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and total organic carbon (TOC) were observed under FI than those under DI. The observed high concentrations (DOC, MBC, and TOC) under FI might be resulted from the irrigation-associated soil saturation that in turn inhibited microbial activity and lowered decomposition rate of soil organic matter. However, DI increased the soil organic matter quality (the ratio of MBC to TOC) at the depth of 10–20 cm compared with FI. Our results suggest that the transformation from conventional FI to integrated DI can increase the CO2emissions and DI needs to be combined with other management practices to reduce the CO2emissions from summer maize fields in the North China Plain.

Rice area has been expanding rapidly during the past 30 years under the influence of global change in northeastern China, which is the northernmost region of rice cultivation in China. However, the spatio-temporal dynamic changes in rice area are still unclear, although they may have important policy implications for environmental protection and adaptation to climate change. In this study, we aimed to identify the dynamic changes of the rice area in Heilongjiang Province of northeastern China by extracting data from multiple Landsat images. The study used ground quadrats selected from Google Earth and the extraction of a confusion matrix to verify the accuracy of extraction. The overall accuracy of the extracted rice area was higher than 95% as a result of using the artificial neural network (ANN) classification method. The results showed that the rice area increased by approximately 2.4×106ha during the past 30 years at an annual rate of 8.0×104ha, and most of the increase occurred after 2000. The central latitude of the rice area shifted northwards from 46 to 47°N during the study period, and moved eastwards from 130 to 133°E. The rice expansion area accounted for 98% of the total change in rice area, and rice loss was notably rare. The rice expansion was primarily from dryland. In addition, rice cultivation in marshland and grassland played a minor role in the rice expansion in this region.

AbstractWe present a high-energy, hundred-picosecond (ps) pulsed mid-ultraviolet solid-state laser at 266 nm by a direct second harmonic generation (SHG) in a barium borate (BaB2O4, BBO) nonlinear crystal. The green pump source is a 710 mJ, 330 ps pulsed laser at a wavelength of 532 nm with a repetition rate of 1 Hz. Under a green pump energy of 710 mJ, a maximum output energy of 253.3 mJ at 266 nm is achieved with 250 ps pulse duration resulting in a peak power of more than 1 GW, corresponding to an SHG conversion efficiency of 35.7% from 532 to 266 nm. The experimental data were well consistent with the theoretical prediction. To the best of our knowledge, this laser exhibits both the highest output energy and highest peak power ever achieved in a hundred-ps/ps regime at 266 nm for BBO-SHG.

Amisulbrom is a novel quinone inside inhibitor, which exhibits excellent inhibitory activity against phytopathogenic oomycetes. However, the resistance risk and mechanism of amisulbrom in Phytophthora litchiiare rarely reported. In this study, the sensitivity of 147 P. litchiiisolates to amisulbrom was determined, with an average EC50of 0.24 ± 0.11 μg/mL. The fitness of resistant mutants, obtained by fungicide adaption, was significantly lower than that of the parental isolates in vitro. Cross-resistance was detected between amisulbrom and cyazofamid. Amisulbrom could not inhibit the cytochrome bc1 complex activity with H15Y and G30E + F220L point mutations in cytochrome b (Cyt b) in vitro. Molecular docking indicated that the H15Y or G30E point mutation can decrease the binding energy between amisulbrom and P. litchiiCyt b. In conclusion, P. litchiimight have a medium resistance risk to amisulbrom, and a novel point mutation H15Y or G30E in Cyt b could cause high amisulbrom resistance in P. litchii.

In this study, we determined the sensitivity of 148 Phytophthora litchiiisolates to cyazofamid, yielding a mean EC50value of 0.0091 ± 0.0028 μg/mL. Through fungicide adaptation, resistant mutants (RMs) carrying the F220L substitution in PlCyt b were derived from wild-type isolates. Notably, these RMs exhibited a lower fitness compared with the parental isolates. Molecular docking analysis further revealed that the F220L change contributed to a decrease in the binding energy between cyazofamid and PlCyt b. The total phenol and flavonoid contents in the litchi pericarp treated with cyazofamid on day 5 were significantly higher than in other treatments. Overall, the laboratory assessment indicated a moderate risk of cyazofamid resistance in P. litchii, but the emergence of the F220L change could lead to a high level of resistance. Thus, cyazofamid represents a promising agrochemical for controlling postharvest litchi downy blight and extending the shelf life of litchi fruits.