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Zn‐ion batteries (ZIBs) have gathered unprecedented interest recently benefiting from their intrinsic safety, affordability, and environmental benignity. Nevertheless, their practical implementation is hampered by low rate performance, inferior Zn2+ diffusion kinetics, and undesired parasitic reactions. Innovative solutions are put forth to address these issues by optimizing the electrodes, separators, electrolytes, and interfaces. Remarkably, polymers with inherent properties of low‐density, high processability, structural flexibility, and superior stability show great promising in tackling the challenges. Herein, the recent progress in the synthesis and customization of functional polymers in aqueous ZIBs is outlined. The recent implementations of polymers into each component are summarized, with a focus on the inherent mechanisms underlying their unique functions. The challenges of incorporating polymers into practical ZIBs are also discussed and possible solutions to circumvent them are proposed. It is hoped that such a deep analysis could accelerate the design of polymer‐derived approaches to boost the performance of ZIBs and other aqueous battery systems as they share similarities in many aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a malignant tumor with low overall cure and survival rates. Uncovering abnormally expressed genes is significantly important for developing novel targeted therapies in NSCLC. This study aimed to discover new differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of NSCLC. The DEGs of NSCLC were identified in eight data sets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The expression profiles and the prognostic significance of SCN4B in LUAD and LUSC were analyzed using GEPIA database. LinkedOmics was used to identify co‐expressed genes with SCN4B, which were further subjected to KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. SCN4B‐overexpressing plasmid (pcDNA/SCN4B) was transfected into A549 and NCI‐H2170 cells to elevate the expression of SCN4B. MTT and TUNEL assays were performed to evaluate cell viability and apoptosis. Relying on the screened DEGs from GEO database, we identified that SCN4B was significantly downregulated in LUAD and LUSC. We confirmed the downregulation of SCN4B in NSCLC tissues using GEPIA database. SCN4B has a prognostic value in LUAD, but not LUSC. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of SCN4B‐related genes showed that cGMP‐PKG signaling pathway might be involved in the role of SCN4B in NSCLC. Overexpression of SCN4B in A549 and NCI‐H2170 cells inhibited the cell viability. Besides, SCN4B overexpression induced apoptosis of A549 and NCI‐H2170 cells. SCN4B inhibited the expression of PKG1 and p‐CREB in NSCLC cells. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of SCN4B on tumor malignancy were attenuated by the activator of PKG. In conclusion, integrated bioinformatical analysis proved that SCN4B was downregulated and had a prognostic significance in NSCLC. In vitro experimental studies demonstrated that SCN4B regulated NSCLC cells viability and apoptosis via inhibiting cGMP‐PKG signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Queenfish, Scomberoides commersonnianus, is a large commercial fish in Bangladesh. This is the first study on the Queenfish that aims to elucidate life history parameters and stock status to suggest authority for sustainable management and to support future research on this economically significant species in the region. We used three length‐based approaches to establish a standard for sustainable management of the fishery: (1) TropFishR to give the growth parameters and current exploitation status, (2) the length‐based Bayesian biomass estimation (LBB) to quantify stock biomass, (3) and Froese's sustainability indicators (LBI). The length–weight relationship of Queenfish was a negative allometric pattern (b = 2.84; R2 = 0.98). Growth parameters for Queenfish were L∞ = 124.22 cm, K = 0.31 year−1. Instantaneous total mortality Z = 0.71 year−1, instantaneous natural mortality M = 0.36 year−1, and instantaneous fishing mortality F = 0.35 year−1. Based on the LBB approach, the current estimated stock biomass was overexploited (B/BMSY = 0.65). We recommend strictly maintaining mesh size of nets to reduce harvest of immature fish shorter than 62 cm, while focusing harvest on fish 62–74 cm, to minimise recruitment and growth overfishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of Papaveraceae, Corydalis sunhangii, in the section Trachycarpae, is described and illustrated from Nyingchi City, Xizang, China. The new species has some resemblance to Corydalis kingdonis, but differs by radical leaves prominent, usually several, blade tripinnate (vs. insignificant, few, blade bi‐ to triternate); cauline leaf usually one, much smaller than radical leaves, usually situated in lower half of stem (vs. usually two, larger than radical leaves, concentrated in upper third of stem); racemes densely 13–35‐flowered (vs. rather lax, 4–11‐flowered); claw of lower petal shallowly saccate (vs. very prominently and deeply saccate); capsule oblong, with raised lines of dense papillae (vs. broadly obovoid, smooth). Phylogenetic analysis, based on 68 protein‐coding plastid genes of 49 samples, shows that C. sunhangii is not closely related to any hitherto described species, which is consistent with our morphological analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The control measures of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic had influenced the activity of the influenza virus, and we were wondering the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward seasonal influenza vaccine among college students were having at the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: Online questionnaire survey of the college students was conducted and the data was collected anonymously, cross‐sectional study were used to describe the distribution of the KAP. Results: There were 815 respondents in our study. Most participants have a high recognition of the effectiveness and safety of the influenza vaccine. However, a low awareness rate of influenza vaccine knowledge and vaccination rate (18%) against influenza was observed among college students. The education level and major would have a higher weight on the influence of KAP among the college students. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the sex (OR = 2.163, p <.001), age (OR = 2.242, p <.001), heard of the influenza vaccine (OR = 2.655, p =.014), and "How necessary do you think vaccinating every year is?" (OR = 3.947, p <.001) of the college students were the main factors that affect the KAP on influenza vaccination. Conclusions: Our study provided an insight into the KAP of influenza vaccine among college students in South China. The vaccination rate and acceptability of influenza vaccine in college students are higher than that in the whole population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneously harvesting electricity through a water evaporation process is renewable and environmentally friendly, and provides a promising way for self‐powered electronics. However, most of evaporation‐driven generators are suffering from a limited power supply for practical use. Herein, a high‐performance textile‐based evaporation‐driven electricity generator based on continuous gradient chemical reduced graphene oxide (CG‐rGO@TEEG) is obtained by a continuous gradient chemical reduction strategy. The continuous gradient structure not only greatly enhances the ion concentration difference between the positive and negative electrodes but also significantly optimizes the electrical conductivity of the generator. As a result, the as‐prepared CG‐rGO@TEEG can generate a voltage of 0.44 V and a considerable current of 590.1 µA with an optimized power density of 0.55 mW cm−3 when 50 µL of NaCl solution is applied. Such scale‐up CG‐rGO@TEEGs can supply sufficient power to directly drive a commercial clock for more than 2 h in ambient conditions. This work offers a novel approach for efficient clean energy harvesting based on water evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceropegia sunhangiana P.R.Luo and T.Deng, a new species from Qiaojia, northeast Yunnan, southwest China, is described and illustrated herein based on its morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. This species is similar to C. christenseniana, and C. sinoerecta but can be distinguished easily by its stem, indumentum, leaf, and floral features, especially the corolla shape and size, the corolla tube and lobe characters. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS, trnL‐trnF, trnS‐trnG, psbA‐trnH and rps16 sequences shows that this new species belongs to C. sect. Chionopegia H.Huber with strong support, which was mutually verified by morphology analyses. A table including the morphological characters of related species and a dichotomous key to all 25 species of Ceropegia in China are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) have large and anatomically sophisticated brains. To expand our understanding of the cellular makeup of cetacean brains and the similarities and divergence between the brains of cetaceans and terrestrial mammals, we report a short‐finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) single‐nucleus transcriptome atlas. To achieve this goal, we assembled a chromosome‐scale reference genome spanning 2.25 Gb on 22 chromosomes and profiled the gene expression of five major anatomical cortical regions of the short‐finned pilot whale by single‐nucleus RNA‐sequencing (snRNA‐seq). We identified six major cell lineages in the cerebral cortex (excitatory neurons, inhibitory neurons, oligodendrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, astrocytes, and endothelial cells), eight molecularly distinct subclusters of excitatory neurons, and four subclusters of inhibitory neurons. Finally, a comparison of snRNA‐seq data from the short‐finned pilot whale, human, and rhesus macaque revealed a broadly conserved cellular makeup of brain cell types. Our study provides genomic resources and molecular insights into cetacean brain evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: How species respond to ongoing climate change has been a hot research topic, especially with the controversy in shifting range (movement) or persisting in local habitat (in situ) as the primary response. Assessing the relative roles of range shifts, phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation helps us predict the evolutionary fate of species. We aim to explore the evolutionary strategies of plants under climate change from a keystone herb in alpine ecosystems, Mirabilis himalaica, along its elevational gradient. Location: Himalaya‐Hengduan Mountains, China. Methods: We combined evidence from population genomics and ecological data in both space and time to investigate the state of "staying" or "moving". We identified migration events by assessing historical and contemporary gene flow and changes in species distribution. Morphological variation was compared by measuring five traits using specimen data. Moreover, we explored climate‐driven genetic variation and local selection regimes acting on populations in the alpine landscape along an elevational gradient. Results: Our results argue that staying in situ by morphological variation and local genetic evolution rather than range shifting plays an important role in M. himalaica response to climate change. We first found trace evidence of upward or climatic‐driven shifting along an elevational gradient, although asymmetric gene flow was restricted within microenvironments of mid‐elevational populations. Furthermore, morphological variation comparisons revealed clinal variation, as resource allocation showed a declining pattern in vegetative growth but increased reproductive growth with increasing elevation. Outlier tests and environment association analyses indicated adaptative loci primarily related to thermal‐driven selection and continuous adaptations to high elevation in the Himalaya‐Hengduan Mountains. Main Conclusions: Our findings show M. himalaica may persist in local habitats rather than shifting range under climate change, exhibiting a low risk of genomic vulnerability in current habitats. This study has important implications in improving our understanding of the evolutionary response in alpine plants to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn powder anode possesses great versatility compared to the Zn foil counterpart, but the rough surface with a high surface area aggravates the corrosion and dendrite growth. Herein, a dendrite‐free and anti‐corrosive semi‐liquid Zn anode (SLA) is successfully fabricated based on Zn powder and a thickening agent. Benefiting from the rheological property, the unique anode effectively releases the stress induced by Zn plating, especially under high‐current densities. Meanwhile, the dual‐conductive medium, i.e., ionic and electronic, homogenizes the ion flux and allows the stripping/plating to occur within the entire anode. In a symmetric cell, the SLA anode exhibits stable electrochemical behavior with a prolonged lifespan at the current density of 5 mA cm−2/10 mA cm−2 under the capacity of 5 mAh cm−2/10 mAh cm−2. Improved durability of more than 5000 cycles is endowed when assembling an SLA anode with a vanadium‐based cathode. This study provides an electrode rheology‐based approach to overcome the stability challenge of powder anode for scale‐up manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart materials promote the development of soft actuators. Herein, the modularized origami soft actuators consisting of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires, foldable paper‐based heaters, and paper substrates with special origami structures are proposed, which are connected without adhesive and allow convenient replacement for damaged parts. SMA wires are threaded into the paper as a drive module. The foldable paper‐based heaters with a length of 288 mm can be heated to 105.1 °C at 6.5 V to control the origami soft actuators. Combined with theoretical calculations and experimental measurements, the origami structure is adopted which exhibits a high recoverability compared with the flat structure because the design finds a structure–material balance by increasing structural flexural rigidity (2 times of that flat structure) for improving the restoring force while maintaining the deformation of materials within the elastic region during the actuation. The three modules in the origami actuator are independent and perform their functions individually. The combined system can also become a module that provides a driving force in other devices. This work provides a novel route and insight for developing modular soft actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To show that depletion of pancreatic macrophages impairs gestational beta cell proliferation and leads to glucose intolerance. Materials and Methods: Genetic animal models were applied to study the effects of depletion of pancreatic macrophges on gestational beta‐cell proliferaiton and glucose response. The crosstalk between macrophages and beta‐cells was studied in vivo using beta‐cell‐specific extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) knockout and epidermal growth receptor (EGFR) knockout mice, and in vitro using a co‐culture system. Results: Beta cell‐derived placental growth factor (PlGF) recruited naïve macrophages and polarized them towards an M2‐like phenotype. These macrophages then secreted epidermal growth factor (EGF), which activated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) signalling in beta cells to promote gestational beta cell proliferation. On the other hand, activation of ERK5 signalling in beta cells likely, in turn, enhanced the production and secretion of PlGF by beta cells. Conclusions: Our study shows a regulatory loop between macrophages and beta cells through PlGF/EGF/ERK5 signalling cascades to regulate gestational beta cell growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We constructed a coating with controllable microstructure on the substrate by static breath figure (BF) method. In the atmosphere of water, when the fluorine‐containing 1H,1H,2H,2H‐perfluorooctyl polyacrylate‐block‐polystyrene copolymer (PTFOA‐b‐PS (4 h)) synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization for 4 h was dissolved in carbon disulfide (CS2) and then coated on the silicon wafer, the concentrated pore size and uniform micro‐pore structure was successfully constructed on the surface. However, the hydrophobicity of the resulting microporous coating was not so good. An interesting result is that when the copolymer solution of PTFOA‐b‐PS (2 h) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) was used under the MeOH/H2O atmosphere (the methanol content was 60% or 80%), the microsphere coating can be produced on the substrate surface to obtain the excellent hydrophobicity. The water contact angles (WCAs) were 148.8 ± 1.8° and 150.3 ± 1.8°, respectively. Energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer (EDS) results showed that the fluorine element was enriched in the outerfield of the microsphere coating. The low surface energy of fluorine combined with the rough and complex structure of the microspheres can effectively improve the hydrophobicity of the coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium‐ion batteries (CIBs) have been considered promising multivalent ion battery systems due to the natural abundance and low redox potential of calcium. The practical realization is largely hampered by the lack of reliable electrode materials. Selenium is first explored as a new conversion‐type electrode for both non‐aqueous and aqueous CIBs. The selenium provides a specific capacity of 476 mAh g–1 with an average voltage of 2.2 V versus Ca/Ca2+ at a current density of 50 mA g–1, offering a higher energy density than other reported cathode materials. Long‐term cyclic stability at a large current density of 500 mA g–1 has been achieved in non‐aqueous electrolytes through encapsulating the selenium in mesoporous carbon. The spectroscopy analysis and density functional theory calculations suggest multi‐step conversion processes involving CaSe4 and Ca2Se5 polyselenides intermediates before reaching the final CaSe phase, exhibiting a distinct reaction pathway from those in other metal‐Se batteries. Furthermore, the application of selenium is extended to the aqueous electrolyte after expanding the electrochemical window. A 1.1 V class aqueous CIB is demonstrated by coupling with a Cu‐based Prussian blue electrode. The discovery of reversible Ca–Se chemistry opens new opportunities for emerging CIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous corrosion and uncontrolled dendrite accumulation of Zn rapidly degrades zinc–metal battery performance. Artificial interfaces have been widely fabricated on Zn metal anodes, yet most interfaces are detrimental to ion transfer and adapt poorly to spatial changes during Zn plating/stripping. Herein, a hybrid interface, consisting of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fiber matrix and Zn‐alginate (ZA) filler, is designed, which serves as a physical barrier between anode and electrolyte to inhibit side reactions. Encouragingly, ZA regulates Zn2+ transport and endows uniform Zn deposition by inducing plating/stripping underneath the hybrid interface. At the same time, the TPU frame acts as a super‐elastic constraint to further suppress rampant dendrite evolution and accommodate a large amount of deposited Zn. Consequently, the interface‐protected Zn anode delivers high cycling stability (1200 h at 5 mA cm–2/5 mA h cm–2; 500 h at 10 mA cm–2/10 mA h cm–2), realizing an exceptional cumulative capacity of over 6000 mA h cm–2. This enhancement is well maintained in the full cell when coupled with a vanadium‐based cathode. The unique matrix‐filler architecture and mechanistic insights unraveled in this study are expected to provide a general principle in designing functional interfaces for metal anodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane proteins play essential roles in cellular function and metabolism. Nonetheless, biophysical and structural studies of membrane proteins are impeded by the difficulty of their expression in and purification from heterologous cell‐based systems. As an alternative to these cell‐based systems, cell‐free protein synthesis has proven to be an exquisite method for screening membrane protein targets in a variety of lipidic mimetics. Here we report a high‐throughput screening workflow and apply it to screen 61 eukaryotic membrane protein targets. For each target, we tested its expression in lipidic mimetics: two detergents, two liposomes, and two nanodiscs. We show that 35 membrane proteins (57%) can be expressed in a soluble fraction in at least one of the mimetics with the two detergents performing significantly better than nanodiscs and liposomes, in that order. Using the established cell‐free workflow, we studied the production and biophysical assays for mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) complexes. Our studies show that the complexes produced in cell‐free are functionally competent in complex formation and substrate binding. Our results highlight the utility of using cell‐free systems for screening and production of eukaryotic membrane proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gut microbiota influences nutrient metabolism and immunity of animal hosts. Better understanding of the composition and diversity of gut microbiota contributes to conservation and management of threatened animals both in situ and ex situ. In this study, we applied 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to evaluate the composition and diversity of the fecal bacterial community of four gibbon genera (Family Hylobatidae) at four Chinese zoos. The results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria and dominant families were Prevotellaceae (Bacteroidetes), Spirochaetaceae (Spirochaetes) and Ruminococcaceae (Firmicutes) in the gut of all gibbons. Both captive site and host genus had significant effects on the relative abundance of dominant bacteria and structure of gut bacterial community. We found that captive site and host genus did not solely impact gut bacterial diversity, but the interaction between them did. This study provides basic knowledge for gut microbiota of all four gibbon genera and contributes to management and conservation of captive gibbons. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria and dominant families were Prevotellaceae (Bacteroidetes), Spirochaetaceae (Spirochaetes) and Ruminococcaceae (Firmicutes) in the gut of all gibbons. Both captive site and host genus had significant effects on the relative abundance of dominant bacteria and structure of gut bacterial community. Captive site and host genus did not solely impact gut bacterial diversity, but the interaction between them did. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM) is a Nobel Prize‐winning technique for determining high‐resolution 3D structures of biological macromolecules. A 3D structure is reconstructed from hundreds of thousands of noisy 2D projection images. However, existing 3D reconstruction methods are still time‐consuming, and one of the major computational bottlenecks is recovering the unknown orientation of the particle in each 2D image. The dominant methods typically exploit an expensive global search on each image to estimate the missing orientations. Here, a novel end‐to‐end supervised learning method is introduced to directly recover the missing orientations from 2D cryo‐EM images. A neural network is used to approximate the mapping from images to orientations. A robust loss function is proposed for optimizing the parameters of the network, which can handle both asymmetric and symmetric 3D structures. Experiments on synthetic data sets with various symmetry types confirm that the neural network is capable of recovering orientations from 2D cryo‐EM images, and the results on a real cryo‐EM data set further demonstrate its potential under more challenging imaging conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumor cells refers to the fact that tumor cells are resistant to one drug while also to others with different types and structures. MDR is an important reason for the failure of many chemotherapies. And researchers have been trying to break through this fatal problem for a long time. Fortunately, the rapid development of nano drugs in recent years has brought new ideas to overcome the MDR. Based on its inherent small size and easy modification characteristics, nano drug can easily reach tumor cells and prolong the circulation time in vivo. This review summarizes three most extensive and in‐depth strategies for counteracting MDR based on nano drug delivery systems, including: 1) controlling ROS levels and stimulus response; 2) co‐delivery of P‐gp inhibitors; 3) directly targeting the nucleus. Furthermore, other innovative and cutting‐edge anti‐MDR strategies are also discussed in this review. It is hoped that the overview of the above treatment strategies can provide inspiration for the design of anti‐cancer nano drugs in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although long noncoding RNA nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) was reported to be associated with acute lung injury (ALI), its specific mechanism has not been well studied. Mouse and cell ALI models were constructed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cell viability was evaluated by 3‐(4,5)‐dimethylthiahiazo (‐z‐y1)‐3,5‐di‐ phenytetrazoliumromide assay. Cell death was evaluated by lactate dehydrogenase release (LDH) detection kit and flow cytometry. The levels of cytokines in lung tissues lysates were detected by quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of apoptosis‐related markers was detected by Western blot. The relationship between NEAT1, miR‐98‐5p, and toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) was determined by bioinformatics prediction, luciferase reporter assay, and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Rescue experiments were performed to determine the role of NEAT1/miR‐98‐5p/TLR4 in ALI. NEAT1 was significantly upregulated during ALI both in vitro and in vivo. NEAT1 knockdown efficiently attenuated LPS‐induced ALI and reduced LPS‐induced elevation of cytokines both in vitro and in vivo. NEAT1 negatively regulated miR‐98‐5p by directly sponging it, and TLR4 was a target of miR‐98‐5p. MiR‐98‐5p inhibition or TLR4 overexpression could obviously attenuate the protective effects of NEAT1 knockdown in LPS‐treated A549 cells. Our study demonstrated that NEAT1 knockdown alleviated LPS‐induced ALI by targeting the miR‐98‐5p/TLR4 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flora of northern China forms the main part of the Sino‐Japanese floristic region and is located in a south–north vegetative transect in East Asia. Phylogeographic studies have demonstrated that an arid belt in this region has promoted divergence of plants in East Asia. However, little is known about how plants that are restricted to the arid belt of flora in northern China respond to climatic oscillation and environmental change. Here, we used genomic‐level data of Myripnois dioica across its distribution as a representative of northern China flora to reconstruct plant demographic history, examine local adaptation related to environmental disequilibrium, and investigate the factors related to effective population size change. Our results indicate M. dioica originated from the northern area and expanded to the southern area, with the Taihang Mountains serving as a physical barrier promoting population divergence. Genome‐wide evidence found strong correlation between genomic variation and environmental factors, specifically signatures associated with local adaptation to drought stress in heterogeneous environments. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed joint effects of population age, mean temperature of coldest quarter, and precipitation of wettest month on effective population size (Ne). Our current study uses M. dioica as a case for providing new insights into the evolutionary history and local adaptation of northern China flora and provides qualitative strategies for plant conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are associated with lung cancer progression. However, it is unclear whether and how circRNA hsa_circ_0001073 (circ_0001073) are involved in lung cancer progression. circ_0001073, microRNA (miR)‐626, and leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) abundances were determined via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or western blot. Cell viability, invasion, and apoptosis were analyzed by cell counting kit‐8, transwell analysis and flow cytometry, respectively. The target correlation was tested by dual‐luciferase reporter analysis or RNA immunoprecipitation. Results showed that circ_0001073 abundance was down‐regulated in lung cancer cells. circ_0001073 constrained cell viability and invasion and facilitated apoptosis in lung cancer cells. miR‐626 was targeted via circ_0001073, and circ_0001073 inhibited lung cancer progression via reducing miR‐626 expression. LIFR was targeted via miR‐626, and miR‐626 knockdown constrained cell viability and invasion and facilitated apoptosis in lung cancer cells via up‐regulating LIFR. circ_0001073 increased LIFR expression via miR‐626 in lung cancer cells. In conclusion, circ_0001073 represses lung cancer progression via miR‐626/LIFR axis, indicating the potential value of circ_0001073 in lung cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical performance of low serum calcium and phosphorus in discriminative diagnosis of the severity of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). We conducted a single‐center hospital‐based study and consecutively recruited 122 suspected and 104 confirmed patients with COVID‐19 during January 24 to April 25, 2020. Clinical risk factors of COVID‐19 were identified. The discriminative power of low calcium and phosphorus regarding the disease severity was evaluated. Low calcium and low phosphorus are more prevalent in severe or critical COVID‐19 patients than moderate COVID‐19 patients (odds ratio [OR], 15.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59–143.18 for calcium; OR, 6.90; 95% CI, 2.43–19.64 for phosphorus). The specificity in detecting the severe or critical patients among COVID‐19 patients reached 98.5% (95% CI, 92.0%–99.7%) and 84.8% (95% CI, 74.3%–91.6%) by low calcium and low phosphorus, respectively, albeit with suboptimal sensitivity. Calcium and phosphorus combined with lymphocyte count could obtain the best discriminative performance for the severe COVID‐19 patients (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.80), and combined with oxygenation index was promising (AUC = 0.71). Similar discriminative performances of low calcium and low phosphorus were found between suspected and confirmed COVID‐19 patient. Low calcium and low phosphorus could indicate the severity of COVID‐19 patients, and may be utilized as promising clinical biomarkers for discriminative diagnosis. Highlights: 1Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with increased risk of COVID‐19 patients were identified;2Low calcium and low phosphorus were more prevalent in severe/critical COVID‐19 patients than moderate ones;3COVID‐19 patients with low calcium and low phosphorus were more likely to have abnormal lung function, liver damage or admission to ICU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhinovirus remains prevalent in school teenagers during fight against COVID-19 pandemic Keywords: rhinovirus; HRV; SARS-COV-2; COVID-19 EN rhinovirus HRV SARS-COV-2 COVID-19 76 79 4 02/06/21 20210301 NES 210301 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is now being a disaster, as of November 3, 2020, the World Health Organization have reported 46 million cases and 1.2 million deaths globally.1 Studies have reported that respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza, varicella, herpes zoster, rubella, and measles are suppressed during the fight against the pandemic of COVID-19,2-4 and the respiratory infection.5 However, while schools in Guangzhou have been reopened, we have monitored several outbreaks of unknown fever, and later proved to be human rhinovirus (HRV) infections. We next conducted a I i SP 2 sp test and found that the rate of patients with runny nose was statistically higher in the HRV positive patients than that of in the HRV-negative patients (Table 2). [Extracted from the article]

The timing of the India‐Asia collision onset, essential to understanding the evolution of the Himalayan‐Tibetan orogen, has been widely investigated through multidisciplinary approaches. Among these, the India to Asia provenance reversal (IAPR) documented in the Indian passive margin successions has proved to be most effective. We present integrated stratigraphic, sedimentological, and provenance data on Upper Cretaceous‐Paleogene strata from the newly investigated Mubala section exposed south of the Yarlung‐Zangbo suture zone (YZSZ) in southern Tibet, which preserves continuous deep‐marine turbiditic and biogenic sedimentation on the distal Indian passive margin. Sandstone petrography, heavy minerals, detrital zircon geochronology and Hf isotopes, and detrital Cr‐spinel geochemistry constrain the IAPR to later than 62.7 Ma (youngest zircon ages from the earliest Asian‐derived sandstone) and by 61.0 ± 0.3 Ma (SIMS age of a tuffaceous layer ∼30 m above this bed). The onset of intercontinental collision along the YZSZ began by 61 Ma. Plain Language Summary: The India‐Asia collision, ultimately leading to uplift of the Himalayan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau, has greatly influenced global climate and oceanic circulation. The timing of collision is essential to reconstruct the growth history of the Himalayan‐Tibetan orogen and its environmental and paleogeographic effects. The change in sediment provenance documented along the Indian continental margin has proved to be a most effective method to constrain the timing of initial collision. We here report a newly‐discovered sedimentary succession deposited onto the deep‐marine edge of India, in which strata composed of detritus derived entirely from India are overlain by strata composed of detritus derived instead from Asia. This provenance change took place later than 62.7 million years ago (Ma; which is the age of the youngest group of zircons contained in the oldest sandstone derived from Asia) and 61.0 ± 0.3 Ma (which is the age of zircon crystals contained in a volcanic tuff found 30 m above the oldest Asian‐derived sandstone). The Indian and Asian continents thus first came into direct contact by 61 Ma. Key Points: Sandstones derived first from India and next from Asia constrain India‐Asia collision onsetThe India‐Asia provenance reversal is bracketed between 62.7 and 61 Ma in the Mubala sectionSubduction of the Indian continental margin beneath Asia began by 61 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synthetic strategy for the synthesis of substituted thiophenes is described by the one‐pot reaction of indoles with ketene dithioacetals under mild reaction conditions. Promoted by triflic acid (TfOH), the reaction of indoles with the easily available α‐acetyl ketene dithioacetals resulted in the formation of vinylketene dithioacetals via condensation instead of the well known nucleophilic addition‐alkylthio elimination process. In thepresence of CuBr2, vinylketene dithioacetals can cyclize into the corresponding substituted thiophenes. This transformation may benefit from the acidic reaction conditions and the steric effects of the 2‐substituted indoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and unprecedented route for the synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4‐c]quinoline N‐oxides is described. The synthetic approach involves a stepwise [3+2] cycloaddition/reductive cyclization from readily available 2‐nitrochalcones and activated methylene isocyanides. The unique feature of this transformation is the reductive cyclization of C−N bond forming without any external reductants. Moreover, the application of pyrrolo[3,4‐c]quinoline N‐oxides is realized to formed pyrrolo[3,4‐c]quinoline derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Plastid‐encoded genes are coordinately transcribed by the nucleus‐encoded RNA polymerase (NEP) and the plastid‐encoded RNA polymerase (PEP). Resulting primary transcripts are frequently subject to RNA editing by cytidine‐to‐uridine conversions at specific sites. The physiological role of many editing events is largely unknown.Here, we have used the CRISPR/Cas9 technique in rice to knock out a member of the PLS‐DYW subfamily of pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins.We found that OsPPR16 is responsible for a single editing event at position 545 in the chloroplast rpoB messenger RNA (mRNA), resulting in an amino acid change from serine to leucine in the β‐subunit of the PEP. In striking contrast to loss‐of‐function mutations of the putative orthologue in Arabidopsis, which were reported to have no visible phenotype, knockout of OsPPR16 leads to impaired accumulation of RpoB, reduced expression of PEP‐dependent genes, and a pale phenotype during early plant development. Thus, by editing the rpoB mRNA, OsPPR16 is required for faithful plastid transcription, which in turn is required for Chl synthesis and efficient chloroplast development.Our results provide new insights into the interconnection of the finely tuned regulatory mechanisms that operate at the transcriptional and post‐transcriptional levels of plastid gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cesium ion/alcohol promoted [4C+2C]annulation with the easily available diacetyl ketene dithioacetals as 4 C components to give poly‐substituted phenols is reported. It is revealed for the first time that in the presence of cesium ion and alcohol under mild alkaline conditions, the acetyl methyl carbon of ketene dithioacetals can be utilized as a carbon nucleophile. This nucleophile can attack at a carbonyl carbon of a ketone to form a C−C bond to initiate a [4C+2C]annulations, which lead to a poly‐substituted phenol product via intramolecular cyclization followed by aromatization. This reaction provides a new and practical route to the construction of poly‐substituted phenols between the same (two diacetyl ketene dithioacetals) or different ketones (a diacetyl ketene dithioacetal and a ketone) under very mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain metastasis is an unsolved clinical problem in breast cancer patients due to its poor prognosis and high fatality rate. Although accumulating evidence has shown that some pan‐histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can relieve breast cancer brain metastasis, the specific HDAC protein involved in this process is unclear. Thus, identifying a specific HDAC protein closely correlated with breast cancer brain metastasis will not only improve our understanding of the functions of the HDAC family but will also help develop a novel target for precision cancer therapy. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining of HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3 in 161 samples from breast invasive ductal carcinoma patients, including 63 patients with brain metastasis, was performed using the standard streptavidin‐peroxidase method. The relationships between HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3 and overall survival/brain metastasis‐free survival/post‐brain metastatic survival were evaluated using Kaplan‐Meier curves and Cox regression analyses. Results: HDAC1, HDAC2, and cytoplasmic HDAC3 all displayed typical oncogenic characteristics and were independent prognostic factors for the overall survival of breast cancer patients. Only cytoplasmic HDAC3 was an independent prognostic factor for brain metastasis‐free survival. Cytoplasmic expression of HDAC3 was further upregulated in the brain metastases compared with the matched primary tumors, while nuclear expression was downregulated. The HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3 expression levels in the brain metastases were not correlated with survival post‐brain metastasis. Conclusions: Our studies first demonstrate a critical role for HDAC3 in the brain metastasis of breast cancer patients and it may serve as a promising therapeutic target for the vigorously developing field of precision medicine. Key points: Significant findings of the study Cytoplasmic HDAC3 is an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival and brain metastasis‐free survival of breast cancer patients. What this study adds Cytoplasmic expression of HDAC3 was further upregulated in the brain metastases compared with the matched primary tumours, while nuclear expression was downregulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Printed flexible heaters (FHs) with excellent heating performance and thermal stability are quite desirable for the development of portable thermotherapy platform. Herein, the facile screen‐printing technology is used to fabricate the highly oxidation‐resistant Cu @ Ni rose‐stem nanowires (RSNWs) ‐ based low‐cost scalable FHs. The Cu @ Ni RSNWs possess low sheet resistance of 1.9 Ω sq−1 after low temperature sintering (90 °C). The FHs not only exhibit great oxidation resistance (almost no change at 180 °C for 30 min), but also maintain the great conductivity (ΔR/R0 < 0.3) even after being exposed to ambient atmosphere for 60 days. Furthermore, the FHs exhibit great heating performance with the saturation temperature of 172.8 °C under 6 V, and can keep stable heating cycles for 5500 s under both parameters of the stepwise‐rising voltage from 2 to 6 V and consistent load‐on voltage of 6 V. In addition, the heaters array can greatly shorten the time of raising the temperature of the blood bag from 5 to 20 °C. The outstanding heating performance of the FHs provides great chances for portable variable‐area flexible heating platform in the field of multiduty thermal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation is considered to be critical in the pterygium progression and recurrence. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is not well understood. Herein, we investigated the potential role of RNA binding protein human antigen R (HuR) responsible for the impact of inflammation on pterygium development. The expression of HuR and matrix metallopeptidase‐9 (MMP‐9) in pterygium and normal conjunctiva was detected with immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). The influence of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) on HuR expression and cellular distribution was determined with western blot and immunofluorescence. The pterygium fibroblast (PTF) migration was determined with scratch wound healing assay and Transwell migration assay. MMP‐9 production was determined with qRT‐PCR and gelatin zymography. The interaction between HuR and MMP‐9 was investigated with RNP immunoprecipitation (IP) followed by RT‐PCR and messenger RNA (mRNA) stability analysis. HuR and MMP‐9 expression are elevated in pterygium, especially progressive pterygium compared with normal conjunctiva. IL‐1β could increase the expression and nucleus–cytoplasm shuttle of HuR in cultured PTFs. HuR mediated the stimulatory effect of IL‐1β on PTF migration and MMP‐9 production. HuR bound to MMP‐9 mRNA and in turn increased it stability. Our results suggest that posttranscriptional regulation of MMP‐9 via stabilizing mRNA by HuR might contribute to the stimulatory effect of inflammatory factor IL‐1β on pterygium progression. These findings shed light on the pathogenesis of pterygium and provide a promising target for adjuvant treatment of pterygium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The gene doublesex (dsx) plays pivotal roles in sex determination and controls sexually dimorphic development in certain insects. Importantly, it also displays a potential candidate target for pest management due to its sex‐specific splicing. Therefore, we used CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated gene disruption to investigate the function of dsx in Hyphantria cunea, an invasive forest pest. RESULT: In the present study, we identified the dsx gene from H. cunea which showed a sex‐biased expression pattern that was different from other lepidopteran insects. Referring to sex‐specific functional analyses in Bombyx mori, we performed a site‐specific knockout of the Hcdsx gene by using a CRISPR/Cas9 system, which induced severe abnormalities in external genitalia and some incomplete sex reversal phenotypes, which in turn led to reduced sex‐specific fecundity. An alternative splicing pattern of Hcdsx was altered by CRISPR/Cas9‐induced mutation, and alterations in splicing affected expression of downstream genes encoding pheromone binding protein 1, vg1 and vg2 (encoding vitellogenin), which contributed to the sex‐specific sterility phenotypes in the Hcdsx mutants. CONCLUSION: The Hcdsx gene plays important roles in sexual differentiation in H. cunea. Disruption of Hcdsx induced sex‐specific sterility, demonstrating a potential application in control of this pest. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent developments at microdiffraction X‐ray beamlines are making microcrystals of macromolecules appealing subjects for routine structural analysis. Microcrystal diffraction data collected at synchrotron microdiffraction beamlines may be radiation damaged with incomplete data per microcrystal and with unit‐cell variations. A multi‐stage data assembly method has previously been designed for microcrystal synchrotron crystallography. Here the strategy has been implemented as a Python program for microcrystal data assembly (PyMDA). PyMDA optimizes microcrystal data quality including weak anomalous signals through iterative crystal and frame rejections. Beyond microcrystals, PyMDA may be applicable for assembling data sets from larger crystals for improved data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of ketene N,S‐acetals with glyoxal for the efficient synthesis of α‐ketosuccinimides is described. Promoted by concentrated hydrobromide, the reaction proceeded under mild aqueous, metal‐free conditions, with broad substrate tolerance. As a result, one C−C, one C−N, and one C−O bond were formed. Mechanistic studies show that this tandem process involves enamine addition, hydrolysis and intramolecular nucleophilic addition. In the proposed mechanism, the amine released as a byproduct plays a promoter role to accelerate the construction of α‐ketosuccinimides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallization of amidase, the ultimate enzyme in the Trp‐dependent auxin‐biosynthesis pathway, from Arabidopsis thaliana was attempted using protein samples with at least 95% purity. Cube‐shaped crystals that were assumed to be amidase crystals that belonged to space group I4 (unit‐cell parameters a = b = 128.6, c = 249.7 Å) were obtained and diffracted to 3.0 Å resolution. Molecular replacement using structures from the PDB containing the amidase signature fold as search models was unsuccessful in yielding a convincing solution. Using the Sequence‐Independent Molecular replacement Based on Available Databases (SIMBAD) program, it was discovered that the structure corresponded to dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase from Escherichia coli (PDB entry 1c4t), which is considered to be a common crystallization contaminant protein. The structure was refined to an Rwork of 23.0% and an Rfree of 27.2% at 3.0 Å resolution. The structure was compared with others of the same protein deposited in the PDB. This is the first report of the structure of dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase isolated without an expression tag and in this novel crystal form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Hepatic mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) transports pyruvate into mitochondria. This study investigated the involvement of MPC1 in hepatic glucagon response, in order to identify a possible pharmacological intervention.Experimental Approach: The correlation between hepatic glucagon response and MPC1 induction was investigated in fasted mice and primary hepatocytes. The effects of ginsenoside Rb1 on MPC1 function were observed.Key Results: Glucagon challenge raised blood glucose with hepatic MPC1 induction, and inhibition of MPC induction coincided with a reduced rise in blood glucose. cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) knockdown blocked glucagon-induced MPC1 expression, while CREB overexpression increased MPC1 expression. Luciferase reporter, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, and promoter mutation confirmed that CREB increased MPC1 transcription through gene promoter induction. CREB regulated transcription co-activator 2 nuclear translocation was also required for CREB to promote MPC1 induction. Glucagon shifted mitochondrial pyruvate towards carboxylation for gluconeogenesis via the opposite regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase and carboxylase with respect to MPC1 induction. MPC1 induction was necessary for glucagon to promote pyruvate-driven hepatic glucose production (HGP), but glucagon failed to influence HGP from other gluconeogenic substrates routed into the tricarboxylic acid cycle, independent of MPC. Rb1 blocked cAMP signalling by inhibiting AC activity and deactivated CREB by dephosphorylation, possibly contributing to inhibiting MPC1 induction to reduce HGP.Conclusions and Implications: CREB transcriptionally up-regulates MPC1 to provide pyruvate for gluconeogenesis. Rb1 reduced cAMP formation which consequently reduced CREB-mediated MPC1 induction and thereby might contribute to limiting pyruvate-dependent HGP. These results suggest a therapeutic strategy to reduce hyperglycaemia in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Novel, general, and highly efficient methodology for the synthesis of β‐ketothioesters from ketene N,S‐acetals has been developed. In this acid‐catalyzed reaction, the amino group, including both alkylamino and arylamino groups, of α‐oxo ketene N,S‐acetals can be easily displaced in the presence of H2O as nucleophile (hydrolysis) instead of the alkylthiol group reported. This new method is simple and practical. A series of β‐ketothioesters were prepared in high yields with broad tolerance of substrates under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raised triglycerides (TG) and reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐c) are components of metabolic syndrome. Both high TG and metabolic syndrome have been reported to be risk factors of endometrial cancer. Therefore, triglycerides‐to‐high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL‐c ratio) may be a useful biological indicator in managing endometrial cancer. We aimed to explore the association between pretreatment TG/HDL‐c ratio and endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women, and to evaluate its potential role in the disease. Pretreatment serum lipid profile and TG/HDL‐c ratio were retrospectively analyzed for 167 postmenopausal women with endometrial cancer and 464 matched noncancer controls. Compared with controls, pretreatment TG/HDL‐c ratio in endometrial cancer patients significantly elevated regardless of whether patients had diabetes or overweight/obesity (P < 0.05). Further analyses showed that pretreatment TG/HDL‐c ratio increased significantly with advanced tumor stage. Interestingly, TG/HDL‐c ratio of type I endometrial cancer patients was higher than those with type II endometrial cancer. A positive association was found between pretreatment TG/HDL‐c ratio and tumor stage (adjusted r = 0.176, P = 0.027) in endometrial cancer group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis yielded the cut‐off value of 1.52 for TG/HDL‐c ratio to discriminate patients with cancer from controls (area under the curve, 0.689; sensitivity, 51.5%; specificity, 84.1%). Multivariate logistic regression model identified TG/HDL‐c ratio ≥ 1.52 (odds ratio = 4.123; P < 0.001) as an independent predictor of endometrial cancer. TG/HDL‐c ratio was positively associated with endometrial cancer clinical features, such as tumor stage and pathogenetic type. Accordingly, pretreatment TG/HDL‐c ratio might be a potential marker for endometrial cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]