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• The sulfur vacancies are successfully introduced to SnS 2. • Efficient carrier separation is realized due to the existence of defect level. • The reduced work function induces stronger electron reduction ability. • 5%Cu/SnS 2- x exhibits enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Tin disulfide (SnS 2) has been recognized as a promising nonprecious photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution using solar energy. Herein, sulfur vacancies are introduced to SnS 2 photocatalyst by doping Cu for improving photocatalytic efficiency. The generation of sulfur vacancies enables formation of a new donor level near the conduction band minimum (CBM), resulting in the higher separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and increased carrier density. Additionally, a theoretical study reveals that incorporating Cu and sulfur vacancies reduces the work function of SnS 2 , making it easier for photogenerated electrons to react with water. As a result, the hydrogen generation rate of sample 5%Cu/SnS 2- x reaches 1.37 mmol h−1 g−1 under visible-light, far exceeding (more than 6 times) that of pure SnS 2 nanoplates. This work not only reinforces the new understanding of defect engineering in SnS 2 -based photocatalysts but also provides valuable guides in rationally designing new efficient photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Fe-mediated Bi 2 MoO 6 photocatalyst was constructed through a facile solvethermal method. The Fe-doping can improved the charge collection through a Fe3+/Fe2+ redox pathway, which serves as surface center for facilitating charge carriers migration. Besides that, the Fe-doping induced surface work function increase would also boost the charge transport to the surface of catalyst. • The Fe-doping can reduce the surface work function of Bi2MoO6. The reduced surface function will promote the charge transport from bulk to surface. • The Fe-doping can act as surface active sites, which endows as-fabricated catalyst with charge collection ability to facilitate photogenerated electron-hole separation. • In sharp contrast with pristine Bi2MoO6, the Fe-mediated Bi2MoO6 exhibits 3.7 times higher photocatalytic activity for nitrogen fixation. Rapid carrier transport and efficient surface reactions are key factors for improving photocatalytic nitrogen fixation. Herein, an efficient Bi 2 MoO 6 nitrogen-fixing photocatalyst was obtained using Fe-mediation. The Fe-doping induced surface work function reduction would boost the charge transport to the surface of catalyst. Besides that, the Fe-doping can also improve the charge collection through a Fe3+/Fe2+ redox pathway, which serves as active sites for nitrogen reduction. Thanks to above merits, Fe-mediated Bi 2 MoO 6 exhibits dramatically enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for nitrogen fixation, in sharp contrast with pristine Bi 2 MoO 6. This work provides a new approach to improve photocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction, which can pave the way for modification studies in nitrogen fixation photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azvudine and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) were widely used to treat patients with COVID-19 in China during the Omicron wave. However, the efficacy and safety of azvudine versus Paxlovid are poorly established. This study included 40,876 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from eleven hospitals in Henan and Xinjiang Provinces, China. Clinical outcomes were compared between the two drugs via Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models. Additionally, in vitro and in vivo experiments were used to evaluate the antitumor effects and safety of both drugs. Single-cell RNA sequencing was performed to elucidate the tumor immune landscape after azvudine treatment. After propensity score matching, 2404 azvudine and 1202 Paxlovid recipients from Henan Province were included. Cox regression revealed that azvudine was related to an 18% lower risk of all-cause death than Paxlovid (95% CI: 0.676-0.987), was not obviously different in composite disease progression. The robustness of the findings was verified by the Xinjiang cohort and three sensitivity analyses. Fewer adverse events were observed in the azvudine group. Subgroup analysis revealed that azvudine provided greater benefits for patients with malignant tumors, significantly reducing both all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.20-0.54) and composite disease progression (HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.33-0.88). Furthermore, azvudine can suppress the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating CD4 + T and CD8 + T cells in vivo. These findings suggest that azvudine therapy is not inferior to Paxlovid in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and has fewer adverse effects. Notably, azvudine may offer greater clinical benefit for patients with HCC., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Previous studies have shown that the endogenous electric field (EF) is an overriding cure in guiding cell migration toward the wound center to promote wound healing, but the mechanism underlying is unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of electric field-guided cell migration in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Our results showed that HaCaT cells migrate toward the anode under EFs. The phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK and Akt were obviously elevated in the EF. Knocking down p38 MAPK obviously abolished directed migration of HaCaT cells under the EFs. Inhibiting p38 MAPK by SB203580 impaired the EF-guided cell migration. The electric field may guide HaCaT cell migration through the EGFR/p38 MAPK/Akt pathway.

Objectives: Azvudine has been designated as a priority treatment for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, however, clinical evidence in hospitalized cases remains insufficient., Methods: We performed a multi-center, retrospective cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of azvudine in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 in China (NCT06349655). Kaplan-Meier method, Cox regression model, subgroup analysis, and seven sensitive analyses were employed., Results: A total of 32864 hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled, in which 5735 azvudine recipients and 5735 controls were selected using 1:1 propensity score matching. Based on Kaplan-Meier analysis, azvudine significantly reduced rates of all-cause death (P < 0.0001) and composite disease progression (P = 0.00019). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that hazard ratios of all-cause death and composite disease progression were 0.68 (95%CI: 0.598-0.775, P < 0.001) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.795-0.976, P = 0.016), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed preference of azvudine for patients receiving antibiotics in reducing all-cause death and composite disease progression. Seven sensitivity analyses verified the robustness of our results. Safety analysis on adverse events showed no significant difference between both groups., Conclusions: This study suggested that azvudine may reduce all-cause death and composite disease progression in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection without serious adverse events. However, the findings are susceptible to some potential biases, and further studies still need to identify the efficacy of azvudine., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Importance: This case report describes a rare occurrence of ileocecal malignant lymphoma combined with adenocarcinoma, due to the low incidence rate of colonic malignant lymphoma., Case Presentation: A 73-year-old female patient presented with abdominal pain and was diagnosed with "acute intussusception with intestinal obstruction" in the emergency department of our hospital. Due to the occurrence of intestinal obstruction the operation was performed, and postoperative pathology revealed a combination of ileocecal DLBCL and ascending colon adenocarcinoma at stage pT1N0M0. One month after the surgery, the patient received an R-CHOP chemotherapy regimen targeting the lymphoma from the hematology department of a local hospital. Upon reexamination after eight cycles of therapy, lymph nodes had enlarged and caused esophageal compression. Unfortunately, the patient contracted COVID-19 and was too weak to undergo any further targeted therapy treatment, and eventually passed away 17 months after the surgery., Clinical Discussion: Synchronous cancers of the colon with malignant lymphoma and adenocarcinoma are rare but still exist. Emphasizing the importance of accurate diagnosis, this report aims to provide clinicians with a broad differential diagnosis, especially in cases where preoperative examination options are limited., Conclusion: An accurate and comprehensive treatment plan should be tailored to the specific situations of different malignant tumors to improve the survival prognosis of patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Rice is a globally important food crop which is sensitive to the presence of a metalloid, arsenic (As). There is limited research pertaining to identifying relevant As-tolerant rice germplasm in adaptive breeding research initiatives, despite the fact that As contamination in rice has long been known. This study served to identify the growth performance of different rice genotypes under high levels of As. Rice seed germination analysis (germination percentage, GP) was performed to categorize the eight different rice genotypes and growing under varying As levels including As 25 , 25 μM and As 50 , 50 μM. The Zhenong 41 was identified as the highly tolerant genotypes with lowest decrease in GP by 87 %, plant height (PH) by 26 %, and dry weight (DW) by 16 %; while 9311 was observed to be the most sensitive genotype with highest reduction in GP by 44 %, PH by 48 % and DW by 54 % under As 25 stress conditions, compared to control treatment. The higher As 50 stress treatment delivered more adverse growth inhibitory effects than the rice plants cultivated under As 25 . Specifically, the As-sensitive rice genotype 9311 showed significantly higher decrease in foliar chlorophyll contents relative to the other genotypes, especially Zhenong 41 (As-tolerant). During exposure to high As levels, the rice genotype 9311 significantly modulated and augmented the production of MDA and H 2 O 2 by stimulating the activities of POD, SOD, and CAT. This study revealed interesting insights into the responses of rice genotypes to variable As stresses throughout the various growth stages. Overall, the findings of this study could be harnessed to support any ongoing As-tolerant rice breeding agendas for cultivation in As-polluted environments., Competing Interests: The authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Digestive system cancers represent a significant global health challenge and are attributed to a combination of demographic and lifestyle changes. Lipidomics has emerged as a pivotal area in cancer research, suggesting that alterations in lipid metabolism are closely linked to cancer development. However, the causal relationship between specific lipid profiles and digestive system cancer risk remains unclear., Methods: Using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, we elucidated the causal relationships between lipidomic profiles and the risk of five types of digestive system cancer: stomach, liver, esophageal, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect impact of developing lipid profiles on the risk of digestive system cancers utilizing data from public databases such as the GWAS Catalog and the UK Biobank. The inverse‒variance weighted (IVW) method and other strict MR methods were used to evaluate the potential causal links. In addition, we performed sensitivity analyses and reverse MR analyses to ensure the robustness of the results., Results: Significant causal relationships were identified between certain lipidomic traits and the risk of developing digestive system cancers. Elevated sphingomyelin (d40:1) levels were associated with a reduced risk of developing gastric cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 0.68, P < 0.001), while elevated levels of phosphatidylcholine (16:1&#95;20:4) increased the risk of developing esophageal cancer (OR = 1.31, P = 0.02). Conversely, phosphatidylcholine (18:2&#95;0:0) had a protective effect against colorectal cancer (OR = 0.86, P = 0.036). The bidirectional analysis did not suggest reverse causality between cancer risk and lipid levels. Strict MR methods demonstrated the robustness of the above causal relationships., Conclusion: Our findings underscore the significant causal relationships between specific lipidomic traits and the risk of developing various digestive system cancers, highlighting the potential of lipid profiles in informing cancer prevention and treatment strategies. These results reinforce the value of MR in unraveling complex lipid-cancer interactions, offering new avenues for research and clinical application., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Arsenic (As) pollution in cultivated soils poses a significant risk to the sustainable growth of agriculture and jeopardizes food security. However, the mechanisms underlying how zinc (Zn) regulates the toxic effects induced by As in plants remain poorly understood. Hence, this study aimed to explore the potential of ZnO as an effective and environmentally friendly amendment to alleviate As toxicity in rice, thereby addressing the significant risk posed by As pollution in cultivated soils. Through a hydroponic experiment, the study assessed the mitigating effects of different ZnO dosages (Zn 5 , 5 mg L -1 ; Zn 15 , 15 mg L -1 ; Zn 30 , 30 mg L -1 ) on rice seedlings exposed to varying levels of As stress (As 0 , 0 µM L -1 ; As 25 , 25 µM L -1 ). The findings of the study demonstrate significant improvements in plant height and biomass (shoot and root), with a notable increase of 16-40% observed in the Zn 15 treatment, and an even more substantial enhancement of 29-53% observed in the Zn 30 treatment under As stress, compared to respective control treatment. Furthermore, in the Zn 30 treatment, the shoot and root As contents substantially reduced by 47% and 63%, respectively, relative to the control treatment. The elevated Zn contents in shoots and roots enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (POD, SOD, and CAT), and decreased MDA contents (13-25%) and H 2 O 2 contents (11-27%), indicating the mitigation of oxidative stress. Moreover, the expression of antioxidant-related genes, OsSOD-Cu/Zn, OsCATA, OsCATB, and OsAPX1 was reduced when rice seedlings were exposed to As stress and significantly enhanced after Zn addition. Overall, the research suggests that ZnO application could effectively mitigate As uptake and toxicity in rice plants cultivated in As-contaminated soils, offering potential solutions for sustainable agriculture and food security., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Optimal grain-appearance quality is largely determined by grain size. To date, dozens of grain size-related genes have been identified. However, the regulatory mechanism of slender grain formation is not fully clear. We identified the OsSG34 gene by map-based cloning. A 9-bp deletion on 5'-untranslated region of OsSG34, which resulted in the expression difference between the wild-type and sg34 mutant, led to the slender grains and good transparency in sg34 mutant. OsSG34 as an α/β fold triacylglycerol lipase affected the triglyceride content directly, and the components of cell wall indirectly, especially the lignin between the inner and outer lemmas in rice grains, which could affect the change in grain size by altering cell proliferation and expansion, while the change in starch content and starch granule arrangement in endosperm could affect the grain-appearance quality. Moreover, the OsERF71 was identified to directly bind to cis-element on the mutant site, thereby regulating the OsSG34 expression. Knockout of three OsSG34 homologous genes resulted in slender grains as well. The study demonstrated OsSG34, involved in lipid metabolism, affected grain size and quality. Our findings suggest that the OsSG34 gene could be used in rice breeding for high yield and good grain-appearance quality via marker-assisted selection and gene-editing approaches., (© 2023 Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Solar water splitting has gained increasing attention in converting solar energy into green hydrogen energy. However, the construction of a photothermo-electro coupling field by harnessing light-induced heat and its enhancement on solar water splitting were seldom studied. Herein, we developed a full-spectrum responsive photoanode by depositing Cd x Zn 1- x S onto the surface of hydrogenated TiO 2 nanotube array (H-TNA), followed by modification with Ni 2 P. The resulting ternary photoanode exhibits a photocurrent density of 4.99 mA·cm -2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE with photoinduced heating, which is 11.9-fold higher than that of pristine TNA, with an optimal ABPE of 2.47%. The characterization results demonstrate that the ternary photoanode possesses superior full-spectrum absorption and efficient photogenerated carrier separation driven by the interface electric fields. Additionally, Ni 2 P reduces the hole injection barrier and increases surface active sites, accelerating the consumption of holes accumulating on the relatively unstable Cd x Zn 1- x S to simultaneously improve the activity and stability of water splitting. Moreover, temperature-dependent measurements reveal that H-TNA and Ni 2 P significantly motivate the photothermal conversion to construct a photothermo-electro coupling field, optimizing photoelectric conversion and charge carrier-induced surface reactions. This work contributes to understanding the synergistic effect of the photothermo-electro coupling field on the photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Objective: This study (CRD42023464989) aimed to explore the effects of pre-operation immunonutrition on safety and immune related factors in colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery., Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Wanfang databases to collect all clinical randomized controlled trials of the application of pre-operation immunonutrition for patients with colorectal cancer, published until July 2023. The primary outcomes were safety and immune related factors., Results: A total of 16 studies were finally included. Preoperative immunonutrition could reduce the postoperative infection rate (risk ratio (RR) = 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36, 0.88; p  = .01), and wound infection rate (RR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.70; p  < .001) in patients with colorectal cancer. For length of stay (mean difference (MD) = -1.10, 95% CI: -2.70, 0.49; p  = .17), it was similar between groups. Meanwhile, patients in the pre-operation immune nutrition group also had significantly increased infiltrative lymphocytes CD 16 + (MD = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.06; p  < .001), and CD 56 + (MD = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.06; p  < .001) cells in the tumor tissues, compared to the control group., Conclusion: Immunonutrition intervention has the potential to reduce postoperative infectious complications and improve tumor infiltrative lymphocytes in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery.

Objective: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may cause otitis media with effusion (OME). However, whether treating GERD can benefit patients with OME has not been well studied., Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Wanfang databases. The search period was from the establishment of the databases until December 31, 2022. Clinical studies related to GERD treatment on the outcomes of OME were included. Two reviewers independently conducted literature screening and data extraction according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. To evaluate the quality of the included studies, we used the NOS assessment tool and the RevMan 5.4. Subgroup analysis was conducted to reduce the risk of heterogeneity, and Egger and Begg funnel plots were used to evaluate publication bias. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata14.0 and Review Manager 5.4 software., Results: Finally, 21,744 patients from 16 studies were included. The results showed that the rate of GERD in OME patients was 0.56 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.33, 0.79), while it was 0.04 (95 % CI: 0.03, 0.05) in the adult GERD population. The combined risk ratio (RR) of OME in patients with versus without GERD was 1.58 (95 % CI: 1.35, 1.85; p < 0.01). The efficacy rate of GERD treatment in OME patients was 0.59 (95 % CI: 0.44, 0.74), especially for those with chronic OME (0.64, 95 % CI: 0.36, 0.92). Compared to the control group, treatment with GERD improved the symptoms and efficacy of OME (OR = 1.65; 95 % CI: 0.95, 2.85; p > 0.05). The hearing loss cure rate was 0.70 (95 % CI: 0.57, 0.82)., Conclusion: GERD has been suggested to be a high-risk factor for OME. Treatment of GERD can improve the symptoms of OME. However, further studies are required to verify these findings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors states that there's no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The development of bifunctional photocatalysts for enhancing hydrogen (H 2 ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production from water is essential in addressing environmental and energy issues. However, the practical implementation of photocatalytic technology is still constrained by the inadequate separation of photo-generated charge carriers. Herein, potassium (K) atoms are introduced into the interlayers of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) with a hollow hexagonal structure (K-TCN) and are coordinated with N atoms in adjacent layers. The presence of K-N coordination serves as a layer bridge, facilitating the separation of charge carriers. The hollow hexagonal structure reduces the distance over which photogenerated electrons migrate to the surface, thereby enhancing the reaction kinetics. Consequently, the optimized K-TCN exhibits a dramatically improved photocatalytic H 2 (941.6 μmol g -1 h -1 with platinum (Pt) as the cocatalyst) and H 2 O 2 (347.6 μmol g -1 h -1 ) generation as compared to hollow g-C 3 N 4 (TCN) and bulk g-C 3 N 4 nanosheet (CN) without K-N bridge under visible light irradiation. The unique design holds promising potential for developing highly efficient bifunctional photocatalysts towards producing renewable fuels and value-added chemicals., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

In our pursuit of promoting the green development of energetic materials and harnessing their functional benefits, we strive to address the inherent contradiction between energy and low sensitivity. In this regard, we have successfully constructed an azotriazole framework via environmentally friendly electrochemistry with a satisfactory yield of 62.3%. Through a simple ion-exchange process, we then synthesized nitrogen-rich salt derivatives of azotriazolone. These nitrogen-rich salts exhibit a wide range of nitrogen contents, ranging from 32.16 to 68.80%. Remarkably, crystallographic analysis of these green energy-containing salts reveals substantial advantages in terms of thermodynamic stability and low sensitivity. Experimental investigations have demonstrated a positive relationship between the nitrogen content and the pyrothermal performance of the azotriazolone derivatives. Of particular significance is compound 5 , a triaminoguanidine salt, which exhibits an exceptionally high nitrogen content of 68.80%. It displays a detonation pressure of 28.2 GPa and a detonation velocity of 7939.4 m s -1 . Moreover, the derivatives of azotriazolone salts demonstrate the formation of nitrogen-rich compounds, characterized by insensitive properties, attributed to the hydrogen-bonded network structures resulting from anion-cation interactions. With the exception of compound 5 , which exhibits a friction sensitivity of 252 N, the remaining derivatives show a similar value of approximately 360 N. This suggests that azotriazolone serves as a promising material possessing both stabilizing properties and better detonation performance, thereby providing a favorable platform for the synthesis of novel compounds with advantageous properties.

Objective: The aim was to explore the effects of preoperative calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation on post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia and hypo-parathyroid hormone-emia (hypo-PTHemia)., Methods: A total of 209 patients were randomly divided into control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). Oral calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation were preoperatively administered to EG, whereas a placebo was administered to CG. Data on serum calcium, phosphorus, and PTH concentrations before operation, on postoperative day 1 (POPD1), at postoperative week 3 (POPW3), and on the length of postoperative hospitalization were collected., Results: The serum calcium, phosphorus, and PTH concentrations, as well as the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia and hypo-PTHemia, did not significantly differ between EG and CG. Subgroup analysis revealed that the serum calcium concentrations of the experimental bilateral thyroidectomy subgroup (eBTS) on POPD1 and POPW3 were higher than that of the control bilateral thyroidectomy subgroup (cBTS) (P < 0.05); the reduction of serum calcium in eBTS on POPD1 and POPW3 was less than those in cBTS (P < 0.05). However, significant differences were not observed between the unilateral thyroidectomy subgroups (UTS) (P > 0.05). Moreover, the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia in cBTS on POPD1 was significantly higher than that in eBTS (65.9% vs 41.7%) (P < 0.05). The length of hospitalization in cBTS (3.55 ± 1.89 days) was significantly longer than that (2.79 ± 1.15 days) in eBTS (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Short-term preoperative prophylactic oral calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation could effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia and decrease the length of postoperative hospitalization in patients who have undergone bilateral thyroidectomy.

This study investigated the physiological and molecular responses of rice genotype '9311' to Cd stress and the mitigating effects of silicon oxide nanoparticles (SiO NPs). Cd exposure severely hindered plant growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, and Cd accumulation. However, SiO NPs supplementation, particularly the SiONP100 treatment, significantly alleviated Cd-induced toxicity, mitigating the adverse effects on plant growth while maintaining chlorophyll content and photosynthetic attributes. The SiONP100 treatment also reduced Cd accumulation, indicating a preference for Si uptake in genotype 9311. Complex interactions among Cd, Si, Mg, Ca, and K were uncovered, with fluctuations in MDA and H 2 O 2 contents. Distinct morphological changes in stomatal aperture and mesophyll cell structures were observed, including changes in starch granules, grana thylakoids, and osmophilic plastoglobuli. Moreover, following SiONP100 supplementation, genotype 9311 increased peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities by 56%, 44%, and 53% in shoots and 62%, 49%, and 65% in roots, respectively, indicating a robust defense mechanism against Cd stress. Notably, OsNramp5, OsHMA3, OsSOD-Cu/Zn, OsCATA, OsCATB, and OsAPX1 showed significant expression after SiO NPs treatment, suggesting potential Cd translocation within rice tissues. Overall, SiO NPs supplementation holds promise for enhancing Cd tolerance in rice plants while maintaining essential physiological functions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Discovery and analysis of genetic variants underlying agriculturally important traits are key to molecular breeding of crops. Reduced representation approaches have provided cost-efficient genotyping using next-generation sequencing. However, accurate genotype calling from next-generation sequencing data is challenging, particularly in polyploid species due to their genome complexity. Recently developed Bayesian statistical methods implemented in available software packages, polyRAD, EBG, and updog, incorporate error rates and population parameters to accurately estimate allelic dosage across any ploidy. We used empirical and simulated data to evaluate the three Bayesian algorithms and demonstrated their impact on the power of genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis and the accuracy of genomic prediction. We further incorporated uncertainty in allelic dosage estimation by testing continuous genotype calls and comparing their performance to discrete genotypes in GWAS and genomic prediction. We tested the genotype-calling methods using data from two autotetraploid species, Miscanthus sacchariflorus and Vaccinium corymbosum, and performed GWAS and genomic prediction. In the empirical study, the tested Bayesian genotype-calling algorithms differed in their downstream effects on GWAS and genomic prediction, with some showing advantages over others. Through subsequent simulation studies, we observed that at low read depth, polyRAD was advantageous in its effect on GWAS power and limit of false positives. Additionally, we found that continuous genotypes increased the accuracy of genomic prediction, by reducing genotyping error, particularly at low sequencing depth. Our results indicate that by using the Bayesian algorithm implemented in polyRAD and continuous genotypes, we can accurately and cost-efficiently implement GWAS and genomic prediction in polyploid crops., (© 2023 The Authors. The Plant Genome published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Crop Science Society of America.)

As important regulators of alternative splicing (AS) events, serine/arginine (SR)-rich proteins play indispensable roles in the growth and development of organisms. Until now, the study of SR genes has been lacking in plants. In the current study, we performed genome-wide analysis on the SR gene family in rice. A total of 24 OsSR genes were phylogenetically classified into seven groups, corresponding to seven subfamilies. The OsSR genes' structures, distribution of conserved domains, and protein tertiary structure of OsSR were conserved within each subfamily. The synteny analysis revealed that segmental duplication events were critical for the expansion of OsSR gene family. Moreover, interspecific synteny revealed the distribution of orthologous SR gene pairs between rice and Arabidopsis , sorghum, wheat, and maize. Among all OsSR genes, 14 genes exhibited NAGNAG acceptors, and only four OsSR genes had AS events on the NAGNAG acceptors. Furthermore, the distinct tissue-specific expression patterns of OsSR genes showed that these genes may function in different developmental stages in rice. The AS patterns on the same OsSR gene were variable among the root, stem, leaf, and grains at different filling stages, and some isoforms could only be detected in one or a few of tested tissues. Meanwhile, our results showed that the expression of some OsSR genes changed dramatically under ABA, GA, salt, drought, cold or heat treatment, which were related to the wide distribution of corresponding cis -elements in their promoter regions, suggesting their specific roles in stress and hormone response. This research facilitates our understanding of SR gene family in rice and provides clues for further exploration of the function of OsSR genes., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2023 Gao et al.)

Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction is considered to be an appealing way of alleviating environmental pollution and energy shortages simultaneously under mild condition. However, the activity is greatly limited by the poor separation of the photogenerated carriers. Ion doping is a feasible strategy to facilitate the charge transfer. In this work, Ni-doped Bi 4 O 5 I 2 photocatalyst is successfully fabricated using a one-pot hydrothermal method. A few doping levels appear in the energy band of Bi 4 O 5 I 2 after Ni doping, which are used as springboards for electrons transition, thus promoting photoexcited electrons and holes separation. As a consequence, a remarkably enhanced yield of CO and CH 4 (6.2 and 1.9 μ mol g -1 h -1 ) is obtained over the optimized Bi 4 O 5 I 2 -Ni15, which is approximately 2.1 and 3.8 times superior to pure Bi 4 O 5 I 2 , respectively. This work may serve as a model for the subsequent research of Bi-based photocatalysts to implement high-performance CO 2 photoreduction., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Osteoporosis, an age-related metabolic bone disease, is mainly caused by an imbalance between osteoblast-mediated bone formation and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. At present, there are many osteoporosis drugs that can promote bone formation or inhibit bone resorption. However, there were few therapeutic drugs that can simultaneously promote bone formation and inhibit bone resorption. Oridonin (ORI), a tetracyclic diterpenoid compound isolated from Rabdosia rubescens, has been proved to have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor effects. However, little is known about the osteoprotective effect of oridonin. Thioacetamide (TAA) is a common organic compound with significant hepatotoxicity. Recent studies have found that there was a certain association between TAA and bone injury. In this work, we investigated the effect and mechanism of ORI on TAA-induced osteoclastogenesis and inhibition of osteoblast differentiation. The results showed that TAA could promote the osteoclastogenesis of RAW264.7 by promoting the MAPK/NF-κB pathway, and also promoted p65 nuclear translocation and activated intracellular ROS generation, and ORI can inhibit these effects to inhibit TAA-induced osteoclastogenesis. Moreover, ORI can also promote the osteogenic differentiation pathway and inhibit adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs to promote bone formation. In conclusion, our results revealed that ORI, as a potential therapeutic drug for osteoporosis, could protect against TAA-induced bone loss and TAA-inhibited bone formation., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Mutations, the genetic variations in genomic sequences, play an important role in molecular biology and biotechnology. During DNA replication or meiosis, one of the mutations is transposons or jumping genes. An indigenous transposon nDart1-0 was successfully introduced into local indica cultivar Basmati-370 from transposon-tagged line viz., GR-7895 (japonica genotype) through conventional breeding technique, successive backcrossing. Plants from segregating populationsshowed variegated phenotypes were tagged as BM-37 mutants. Blast analysis of the sequence data revealed that the GTP-binding protein, located on the BAC clone OJ1781&#95;H11 of chromosome 5, contained an insertion of DNA transposon nDart1-0. The nDart1-0 has "A" at position 254 bp, whereas nDart1 homologs have "G", which efficiently distinguishes nDart1-0 from its homologs. The histological analysis revealed that the chloroplast of mesophyll cells in BM-37 was disrupted with reduction in size of starch granules and higher number of osmophillic plastoglobuli, which resulted in decreased chlorophyll contents and carotenoids, gas exchange parameters (Pn, g, E, Ci), and reduced expression level of genes associated with chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis and chloroplast development. Along with the rise of GTP protein, the salicylic acid (SA) and gibberellic acid (GA) and antioxidant contents(SOD) and MDA levels significantly enhanced, while, the cytokinins (CK), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), total flavanoid contents (TFC) and total phenolic contents (TPC) significantly reduced in BM-37 mutant plants as compared with WT plants. These results support the notion that GTP-binding proteins influence the process underlying chloroplast formation. Therefore, it is anticipated that to combat biotic or abiotic stress conditions, the nDart1-0 tagged mutant (BM-37) of Basmati-370 would be beneficial., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS) is a rare congenital genetic syndrome, a multisystem disease related to congenital abnormalities, that manifests with abnormal features, causes repeated infections and is associated with developmental delays. Here, we report a newborn male with CSS from Baoding in the Hebei Province of China.

Biological pretreatment to the lignocellulosic waste prior to anaerobic digestion is a popular method to increase biogas production. However, the long time needed for the pretreatment is not suitable to the practical application. A fungus strain, which could produce many kinds of lignocellulosic enzymes including CMCase, FPase, xylanase and laccase, was isolated from the soil of Tibet in this study. The fungus was identified as Trametes sp. W-4 by morphological and molecular characterization. The optimum culture temperature was 30 °C and the optimum nitrogen source was peptone. Under the optimum fermentation condition, the activity of CMCase, FPase, xylanase and laccase could reach 2.73 U/mL, 0.41 U/mL, 0.29 U/mL, and 1.11 U/mL, respectively. The results of pretreatment of Trametes sp. W-4 on the mixtures of high land barley straw, cow manure and pig manure for enhancement of biogas production showed that a very short time pretreatment of 3 days could obtain the highest cumulative methane production of 111.51 mL/g-VS, which was 63.81% higher than that of the control group of 68.07 mL/g-VS. The finding indicated that Trametes sp. W-4 pretreatment could be a candidate for the improving of biogas production from lignocellulosic waste., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: In recent years, red cell distribution width (RDW) has been found to be associated with the prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) in Western countries. However, evidence from Asia is limited. We aimed to investigate the relationship between RDW and the risk of 3-month readmission in hospitalized Chinese HF patients., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed HF data from the Fourth Hospital of Zigong, Sichuan, China, involving 1,978 patients admitted for HF between December 2016 and June 2019. The independent variable in our study was RDW, and the endpoint was the risk of readmission within 3 months. This study mainly used a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Smoothed curve fitting was then used to assess the dose-response relationship between RDW and the risk of 3-month readmission., Results: In the original cohort of 1,978 patients with HF (42% male and 73.1% aged ≥70 years), 495 patients (25.0%) were readmitted within 3 months after discharge. Smoothed curve fitting showed a linear correlation between RDW and the risk of readmission within 3 months. In the multivariable-adjusted model, every 1% increase in RDW was associated with a 9% increased risk of readmission within 3 months (hazard ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.15; P  < 0.005)., Conclusions: A higher RDW value was significantly associated with a greater risk of 3-months readmission in hospitalized patients with HF., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Gu, Wu, Jin, Kong and Zhao.)

Background and Purpose: There was little evidence to study the relationship between hypocalcemia and mortality among critically ill patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) aged ≥16 years. This study aimed to determine the potential association between hypocalcemia and in-hospital and ICU mortality in patients with ICH in the United States., Methods: We analyzed 1,954 patients with ICH from the e-Intensive Care Unit Collaborative Research Database and divided them into hypocalcemia and non-hypocalcemia groups. Hypocalcemia was defined as albumin-adjusted total calcium below 8.4 mg/dl. The primary and secondary outcomes were hospital and ICU mortality, respectively. We performed multivariable regression and subgroup analyses to evaluate the association of hypocalcemia with hospital and ICU mortality. Cumulative survival rate analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves with log-rank statistics., Results: We enrolled 1,954 patients with ICH who had been hospitalized in ICU for >24 h and were older than 16 years (average age, 61.8 years; men, 56.7%). We noted that 373 (19%) hospital mortality occurred, including 235 (12%) ICU mortality. In this sample, 195 patients had hypocalcemia. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that hypocalcemia was associated with a 67% increased risk of in-hospital and a 72% increased risk of ICU mortality. This association was consistent across subgroup analyses., Conclusions: Hypocalcemia was associated with a high risk of hospital and ICU mortality among critically ill patients with ICH. Future prospective, randomized, controlled studies are needed to confirm our results., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Gu, Zhao, Duan, Zhang, Luo, Chen, Jin, Pan, Gao and Wu.)

Main Conclusion: A G to T nucleotide substitution of OsTSG2 led to more tillers and smaller grains in rice by participating in phytohormone signal transduction and starch and sucrose metabolism. Rice is one of the most important food crops worldwide. Grain size and tiller number are the most important factors determining rice yield. The more-tiller and small-grain 2 (tsg2) mutant in rice, developed by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis, has smaller grains, more tillers, and a higher yield per plant relative to the wild-type (WT). Based on the genetic analysis, the tsg2 traits were conferred by a single recessive nuclear gene located on the long arm of chromosome 2. After fine-mapping the OsTSG2 locus, a G to T nucleotide substitution was identified, which resulted in an A to S mutation in a highly conserved domain of the growth-regulation factor protein. The single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) marker was developed based on the SNP associated with the phenotypic segregation of traits. The functional complementation of OsTSG2 from the tsg2 mutant to the WT led to an increase in grain size and weight. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified by RNA sequencing were involved in phytohormone signal transduction and starch and sucrose metabolism. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis detected variation in the indole acetic acid (IAA) and jasmonic acid (JA) content in the tsg2 inflorescence, while the cellular organization, degree of chalkiness, gel consistency, amylose content, and alkaline spreading value were affected in the tsg2 grains. The findings elucidated the regulatory mechanisms of the tsg2 traits. This mutant could be used in marker-assisted breeding for high-yield and good-quality rice., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Thioacetamide (TAA) is used in various fields, such as synthetic drugs, organic chemical synthesis, and materials chemistry. TAA is mainly used to establish animal liver injury models and other organ damage models to explore their mechanisms for helping patients with liver disease. Liver damage can lead to abnormal expression of some enzymes in the serum, so we detected the appropriate enzyme levels in the serum of SD rats to verify the damage of TAA to the liver. More importantly, TAA caused bone damage is barely understood. Therefore, our research aims to establish a rat model reflecting the acute bone damage injury caused by TAA., Methods: The SD rats were intraperitoneally injected with normal saline (0.9%) or TAA (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg) for 1 month (once the other day). After the last intraperitoneal injection, serum samples from rats were used for biochemical tests. Masson staining is used to detect liver damage, and micro-CT is used to detect the changes in bone. Moreover, the three-point bending experiment was used to detect the force range of the hind limbs of SD rats., Results: Compared with the control group, after the intraperitoneal injection of TAA, the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid (UA), total bile acid (TBA), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), carbamide (UREA) and creatinine (CREA) rose sharply, while the levels of serum content of total protein (TP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were severely reduced. After TAA administration, collagen fibers were deposited and liver fibrosis was obvious. Micro-CT results showed that the bone surface, tissue surface, bone volume, and tissue volume of rats with an intraperitoneal injection of TAA were significantly reduced. In addition, the bones of rats with an intraperitoneal injection of TAA can resist less pressure and are prone to fractures., Conclusions: TAA can cause liver damage in SD rats, which is explained by the changes in serum biochemical indicators and the deposition of liver collagen. More importantly, TAA can reduce bone mineral density and increase the separation of bone trabeculae in SD rats, and finally lead to bone injury. This suggests that TAA may become an ideal model to investigate abnormal bone metabolism after liver injury., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) aggravate gastric cancer (GC) development., Methods: Combined with bioinformatics analysis and literature review, miR-223-3p had high expression in microvesicles (MVs) derived from GC CAFs, and it could modulate SORBS1. miR-223-3p and SORBS1 mRNA levels were assessed by qRT-PCR. The levels of CAFs markers, MVs markers, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated proteins, and SORBS1 protein were assessed by western blot. MVs isolated from fibroblasts were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Combined with immunofluorescence and co-culture experiments, GC cells were determined to absorb MVs carrying miR-223-3p. Cell functions were measured using CCK-8, transwell, flow cytometry and colony formation assays. The binding of miR-223-3p and SORBS1 was determined by dual-luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation. The cancer-promoting effect of MVs carrying miR-223-3p on experimental animals was verified in vivo by tumor-bearing experiment in nude mice., Results: miR-223-3p was upregulated in the MVs secreted by GC CAFs and could be transmitted to GC cells through MVs, to boost the malignant progression of tumor cells. Additionally, it was also revealed that miR-223-3p targeted SORBS1 and accelerated progression along with EMT in GC., Conclusions: CAFs-derived MVs could carry miR-223-3p to GC cells to target SORBS1, thereby promoting the malignant progression of GC., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Osteoclast cell increase is a major risk factor for osteoporosis and degenerative bone and joint diseases. At present, RANKL and M-CSF are commonly used to induce osteoclastogenesis. Thioacetamide (TAA) can lead to many types of liver and kidney damage, but less attention has been paid to the association of TAA with bone damage. In this work, we investigated the effects of TAA on the osteoclastogenesis and differentiation of bone marrow macrophages (BMMs)., Methods: BMMs of SD rat suckling mice were taken for primary culture. CCK-8 was used to detect the toxic effects of TAA on BMMs, and flow cytometry was used to detect the effects of TAA on the cell cycle, cell viability, apoptosis and intracytoplasmic Ca 2+ concentration of BMMs. TRAP staining was used to detect the effect of RANKL and M-CSF and TAA on osteoclast differentiation of BMMs. Western Blot was used to detect the expression level of PI3K/AKT pathway and osteoclast-specific proteins (TRAP and cathepsin K)., Results: The results suggested that TAA inhibited the proliferation of BMMs, while enhancing osteoclastogenesis at 0.5 mg/mL and 1 mg/mL as assayed by TRAP staining. Exposed to TAA, BMMs could differentiate into osteoclast-like cells with overexpression of cathepsin K and TRAP proteins. Western blot results showed that TAA can activate the expression levels of P-PI3K, P-AKT, P-P38, and P-JNK, accompanied by apoptosis of BMMs and increase in intracellular Ca 2+ ., Conclusion: TAA may induce osteoclast formation in BMMs by activating the expression of PI3K/AKT pathway proteins, which is comparable to the classic osteoclast differentiation inducer RANKL and M-CSF. This suggests that we may find a cheap osteoclast inducer., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: To explore the influence of a systematic nursing mode on the quality of life and pain of patients with chronic sinusitis and nasal polyps (CSNP) after endoscopic sinus surgery., Methods: In this prospective study, a total of 114 patients with CSNP who were admitted to our hospital were randomly divided into an observation group (n=57) and a control group (n=57) by a random number table. The control group was given routine nursing, and the observation group was given systemic nursing. In this study, we compared the two groups of patients with visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores, the complication rate, quality of life, quality of sleep, and patients' satisfaction with nursing services., Results: The VAS scores of postoperative pain in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.001). The SAS scores of patients in the observation group were markedly lower than those in the control group (P<0.001). The rate of complications such as periorbital bruising, nasal adhesions, and cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea was significantly lower in the observation group than that in the control group (P<0.05). The physical function, general health, social function, emotional role, and mental health of the observation group were markedly higher than those of the control group (all P<0.05). The sleep quality scores of patients in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The observation group's satisfaction with systemic nursing was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05)., Conclusion: The systemic nursing model applied to patients undergoing nasal endoscopic surgery for CSNP showed remarkable results. It relieved patients' anxiety symptoms, reduced postoperative pain and the complication rate, improved patients' quality of sleep and life, increased patient satisfaction. The systemic nursing model was worthy of clinical promotion and application., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2021.)

Miscanthus is a perennial wild grass that is of global importance for paper production, roofing, horticultural plantings, and an emerging highly productive temperate biomass crop. We report a chromosome-scale assembly of the paleotetraploid M. sinensis genome, providing a resource for Miscanthus that links its chromosomes to the related diploid Sorghum and complex polyploid sugarcanes. The asymmetric distribution of transposons across the two homoeologous subgenomes proves Miscanthus paleo-allotetraploidy and identifies several balanced reciprocal homoeologous exchanges. Analysis of M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus populations demonstrates extensive interspecific admixture and hybridization, and documents the origin of the highly productive triploid bioenergy crop M. × giganteus. Transcriptional profiling of leaves, stem, and rhizomes over growing seasons provides insight into rhizome development and nutrient recycling, processes critical for sustainable biomass accumulation in a perennial temperate grass. The Miscanthus genome expands the power of comparative genomics to understand traits of importance to Andropogoneae grasses.

Miscanthus is a perennial grass with potential for lignocellulosic ethanol production. To ensure its utility for this purpose, breeding efforts should focus on increasing genetic diversity of the nothospecies Miscanthus × giganteus (M×g) beyond the single clone used in many programs. Germplasm from the corresponding parental species M. sinensis (Msi) and M. sacchariflorus (Msa) could theoretically be used as training sets for genomic prediction of M×g clones with optimal genomic estimated breeding values for biofuel traits. To this end, we first showed that subpopulation structure makes a substantial contribution to the genomic selection (GS) prediction accuracies within a 538-member diversity panel of predominately Msi individuals and a 598-member diversity panels of Msa individuals. We then assessed the ability of these two diversity panels to train GS models that predict breeding values in an interspecific diploid 216-member M×g F 2 panel. Low and negative prediction accuracies were observed when various subsets of the two diversity panels were used to train these GS models. To overcome the drawback of having only one interspecific M×g F 2 panel available, we also evaluated prediction accuracies for traits simulated in 50 simulated interspecific M×g F 2 panels derived from different sets of Msi and diploid Msa parents. The results revealed that genetic architectures with common causal mutations across Msi and Msa yielded the highest prediction accuracies. Ultimately, these results suggest that the ideal training set should contain the same causal mutations segregating within interspecific M×g populations, and thus efforts should be undertaken to ensure that individuals in the training and validation sets are as closely related as possible., (Copyright © 2020 Olatoye et al.)

The application of photocatalytic sterilization technology for the sterilization of water has been broadly studied in recent years. However, developing photocatalysts with high disinfection efficiency remains an urgent challenge. Tungsten trioxide with coexisting oxygen vacancies and carbon coating (WO 3- x /C) has been successfully synthesized toward the photothermal inactivation of Escherichia coli . Oxygen vacancies and carbon coating bring WO 3- x /C strong absorption in the infrared region and enhance the carrier separation efficiency. As a result, a higher sterilization rate is obtained compared to WO 3 . WO 3- x /C can completely inactivate E. coli under infrared light within 40 min through photothermal synergy process. During the process of inactivating bacteria over WO 3- x /C, E. coli is killed by the destruction of their cell membrane to decrease the activity of enzymes and release the cell contents, which can be ascribed to the efficient generation of reactive oxygen species (O 2 •- and • OH) and thermal effect. This work demonstrates a novel approach for engineering efficient and energy-saving catalysts for water sterilization.

Background and Aims: Miscanthus, a C4 perennial grass native to East Asia, is a promising biomass crop. Miscanthus sacchariflorus has a broad geographic range, is used to produce paper in China and is one of the parents (along with Miscanthus sinensis) of the important biomass species Miscanthus × giganteus. The largest study of M. sacchariflorus population genetics to date is reported here., Methods: Collections included 764 individuals across East Asia. Samples were genotyped with 34 605 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) and ten plastid microsatellites, and were subjected to ploidy analysis by flow cytometry., Key Results: Six major genetic groups within M. sacchariflorus were identified using SNP data: three diploid groups, comprising Yangtze (M. sacchariflorus ssp. lutarioriparius), N China and Korea/NE China/Russia; and three tetraploid groups, comprising N China/Korea/Russia, S Japan and N Japan. Miscanthus sacchariflorus ssp. lutarioriparius was derived from the N China group, with a substantial bottleneck. Japanese and mainland tetraploids originated from independent polyploidization events. Hybrids between diploid M. sacchariflorus and M. sinensis were identified in Korea, but without introgression into either parent species. In contrast, tetraploid M. sacchariflorus in southern Japan and Korea exhibited substantial hybridization and introgression with local diploid M. sinensis., Conclusions: Genetic data indicated that the land now under the Yellow Sea was a centre of diversity for M. sacchariflorus during the last glacial maximum, followed by a series of migrations as the climate became warmer and wetter. Overall, M. sacchariflorus has greater genetic diversity than M. sinensis, suggesting that breeding and selection within M. sacchariflorus will be important for the development of improved M. × giganteus. Ornamental M. sacchariflorus genotypes in Europe and North America represent a very narrow portion of the species' genetic diversity, and thus do not well represent the species as a whole., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Genetic improvement through breeding is one of the key approaches to increasing biomass supply. This paper documents the breeding progress to date for four perennial biomass crops (PBCs) that have high output-input energy ratios: namely Panicum virgatum (switchgrass), species of the genera Miscanthus (miscanthus), Salix (willow) and Populus (poplar). For each crop, we report on the size of germplasm collections, the efforts to date to phenotype and genotype, the diversity available for breeding and on the scale of breeding work as indicated by number of attempted crosses. We also report on the development of faster and more precise breeding using molecular breeding techniques. Poplar is the model tree for genetic studies and is furthest ahead in terms of biological knowledge and genetic resources. Linkage maps, transgenesis and genome editing methods are now being used in commercially focused poplar breeding. These are in development in switchgrass, miscanthus and willow generating large genetic and phenotypic data sets requiring concomitant efforts in informatics to create summaries that can be accessed and used by practical breeders. Cultivars of switchgrass and miscanthus can be seed-based synthetic populations, semihybrids or clones. Willow and poplar cultivars are commercially deployed as clones. At local and regional level, the most advanced cultivars in each crop are at technology readiness levels which could be scaled to planting rates of thousands of hectares per year in about 5 years with existing commercial developers. Investment in further development of better cultivars is subject to current market failure and the long breeding cycles. We conclude that sustained public investment in breeding plays a key role in delivering future mass-scale deployment of PBCs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that progress reported in this paper, which includes input from industrial partners, is not biased by their business interests.

Background and aims Miscanthus is a genus of perennial C4 grasses native to East Asia. It includes the emerging ligno-cellulosic biomass crop M. ×giganteus, a hybrid between M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus. Biomass yield and cold tolerance are of particular interest in Miscanthus, given that this crop is more temperate adapted than its C4 relatives maize, sorghum and sugarcane. Methods A plant exploration was conducted in eastern Russia, at the northern extreme of the native range for Miscanthus, with collections including 174 clonal germplasm accessions (160 M. sacchariflorus and 14 M. sinensis) from 47 sites. Accessions were genotyped by restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) and plastid microsatellites. Key Results Miscanthus sinensis was found in maritime climates near Vladivostok (43·6°N) and on southern Sakhalin Island (46·6°N). Miscanthus sacchariflorus was found inland at latitudes as high as 49·3°N, where M. sinensis was absent. Most M. sacchariflorus accessions were diploid, but approx. 2 % were tetraploids. Molecular markers revealed little population structure (Jost's D < 0·007 among diploid groups) but high genetic diversity (expected heterozygosity = 0·14) within the collection of Russian M. sacchariflorus. Genome-wide association (GWA) analysis for traits measured at the collection sites revealed three M. sacchariflorus single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with the number of stems per unit area, one with height and one with basal stem diameter; three were near or within previously described sorghum quantitative trait loci for related traits. Conclusions This new Miscanthus germplasm collection from eastern Russia will be useful for breeding Miscanthus and sugarcane cultivars with improved adaptation to cold. Moreover, a strategy is proposed to facilitate the rapid utilization of new germplasm collections: by implementing low-cost SNP genotyping to conduct GWA studies of phenotypic data obtained at collection sites, plant breeders can be provided with actionable information on which accessions have desirable traits and alleles., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The monosacchride composition of polysacchrides in Dendrobium officinal of different germplasms, physiological ages and closely related species were determined by pre-column derivatization HPLC. The results showed that the absolute and relative volumes of all monosacchrides were significantly different between D. officinale and its closely related species, different germplasms and physiological ages of D. officinale. Absolute peak areas of mannose ranged from 0.854 x 10(7) to 10.340 x 10(7) in closely related species of D. officinale, ranged from 1.467 x 10(7) to 8.475 x 10(7) in different germplasms of D. officinale and were 4.411 x 10(7) (2.577 x 10(7)-6.516 x 10(7)), 5.528 x 10(7) (3.179 x 10(7)-8.475 x 10(7)) and 3.601 x 10(7) (1.467 x 10(7)-5.888 x 10(7)), respectively, in one to three physiological ages of D. officinale. The ratio of mannose to glucose peak areas (relative peak area) ranged from 0.976 to 16.599 in closely related species of D. officinale and from 2.679 to 7.831 in different germplasms of D. officinale. Only the relative peak areas of D. pendulum and D. primulinum were in the range of different germplasms of D. officinale in all tested samples. The results revealed the variation of monosacchride composition of polysacchrides in D. officinale. Monosacchride composition of D. officinale could be altered by breeding new varieties and controlling harvesting season. Most adulterants of D. officinale could be ruled out according to the relative peak areas of D. officinale, providing a basis for quality control and resources training of D. officinale.