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【Objective】The study was carried out to screen new varieties (lines) of flue-cured tobacco with high quality adapted to ecological conditions in Ji'an tobacco production area.【Method】Five flue-cured tobacco varieties (lines) including CC400, PVH2233, PVH2343, 1604 and Xiangyan 7 were introduced from the imported varieties and domestic self-bred varieties, and the main conventional varieties Yunyan 87 and K326 were used as control varieties. A community comparative trial was conducted for two consecutive years from 2019 to 2020. The growth period, agronomic traits, disease resistance, economic characters, appearance quality, chemical composition and sensory quality of each variety (line) were analyzed.【Result】The Xiangyan 7, which showed a good balance between quality and benefit, had better color and oil content. The output and yield of Xiangyan 7 were higher than those of Yunyan 87 by 305.85 kg/hm2 and 4 837.95 Yuan/hm2 respectively. The sensory quality was obviously better than the main variety Yunyan 87. However, attention should be paid to the prevention and control of common mosaic disease in field at early stage. The PVH2233 with good interannual stability and medium sensory quality had 3-4 pieces of leaves more than the control, and the vigorous growing period was 5-7 days longer than that of the control. It was necessary to strengthen the researches on supporting cultivation techniques. The 1604 had the advantages of early growth and rapid development, largest pitch and lumbar leaf area, better appearance quality and economic character, and better sensory quality than Yunyan 87. The CC400 was similar to K326 in field growth and had better leaf opening, but the occurrence of bacterial wilt was relatively severe and the economic character was not prominent. The PVH2343 had thicker leaves, but the incidence of climatic spot disease was more severe, and the sensory quality was slightly poor.【Conclusion】The comprehensive performance of Xiangyan 7, PVH2233 and 1604 was better, which could be further verified by expanding the planting area.

BackgroundChronic pressure overload triggers pathological cardiac hypertrophy that eventually leads to heart failure. Effective biomarkers and therapeutic targets for heart failure remain to be defined. The aim of this study is to identify key genes associated with pathological cardiac hypertrophy by combining bioinformatics analyses with molecular biology experiments.MethodsComprehensive bioinformatics tools were used to screen genes related to pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by overlapping three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE5500, GSE1621, and GSE36074). Correlation analysis and BioGPS online tool were used to detect the genes of interest. A mouse model of cardiac remodeling induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was established to verify the expression of the interest gene during cardiac remodeling by RT-PCR and western blot. By using RNA interference technology, the effect of transcription elongation factor A3 (Tcea3) silencing on PE-induced hypertrophy of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) was detected. Next, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and the online tool ARCHS4 were used to predict the possible signaling pathways, and the fatty acid oxidation relevant pathways were enriched and then verified in NRVMs. Furthermore, the changes of long-chain fatty acid respiration in NRVMs were detected using the Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer. Finally, MitoSOX staining was used to detect the effect of Tcea3 on mitochondrial oxidative stress, and the contents of NADP(H) and GSH/GSSG were detected by relevant kits.ResultsA total of 95 DEGs were identified and Tcea3 was negatively correlated with Nppa, Nppb and Myh7. The expression level of Tcea3 was downregulated during cardiac remodeling both in vivo and in vitro. Knockdown of Tcea3 aggravated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by PE in NRVMs. GSEA and online tool ARCHS4 predict Tcea3 involved in fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Subsequently, RT-PCR results showed that knockdown of Tcea3 up-regulated Ces1d and Pla2g5 mRNA expression levels. In PE induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, Tcea3 silencing results in decreased fatty acid utilization, decreased ATP synthesis and increased mitochondrial oxidative stress.ConclusionOur study identifies Tcea3 as a novel anti-cardiac remodeling target by regulating FAO and governing mitochondrial oxidative stress.

The discharge of low-temperature water from the middle and lower layers of thermally stratified dam reservoirs leads to thermal pollution and adversely affects fish production and reproduction in downstream rivers. Selective water withdrawal using stoplog gates is an effective approach to address this issue. However, comprehensively and effectively evaluating the effects of stratified withdrawal and optimizing the scheduling of stoplog gates to provide better ecological services to downstream habitats pose significant challenges for reservoir managers. In this study, an equivalent elevation method (EEM) was developed based on in situ observation data of water temperature. The EEM calculates the equivalent withdrawal elevation (EWE) in the far dam area corresponding to the discharge-water temperature (DWT), facilitating the evaluation of stoplog-gate effects. EEM was applied to a thermally stratified dam reservoir in southwestern China (Guangzhao reservoir, GZ). The results showed a significant positive correlation (r > 0.7, p < 0.05) between DWT and the vertical-water-temperature structure in the far dam area. The average EWEs for the 5-layer, 4-layer, and 3-layer stoplog gates in GZ were 697.2 m, 690.8 m, and 689.9 m, respectively. Utilizing the EEM findings, a scheduling operation scheme was proposed to improve DWT while reducing the number of stoplog-gate operations, thereby increasing their efficiency and saving the cost of invested labor and time. This method provides a reference for reservoir managers in optimizing stoplog-gate-scheduling strategies to mitigate potential risks to aquatic ecosystems caused by abnormal water temperature.

Objective To study tacrolimus intra-patient variability (Tac-IPV) after liver transplantation in children and the influence on prognosis of transplantation. Methods A total of 392 pediatric liver transplant recipients were included in this single-center retrospective study. All children were treated with Tac-based immunosuppressive therapy postoperatively. Tac-IPV was calculated using both coefficient of variation (CV) and Tac variability score (TVS) methods. According to both follow-up and biopsy results, the difference in IPV was analyzed between complication group and normal recovery group. The influence of IPV on postoperative complications after transplantation were analyzed using two calculation methods. Results There were 175 males and 217 females with(24.73±36.58) months of age when transplantation included in this study. After pediatric liver transplantation, the median Tac-CV was 0.386 3, 0.317 0, and 0.291 3 in the first three years respectively, and 0.296 1 in 4-5 years. There was no significant difference in IPV calculated by CV between complication group and normal recovery group, such as rejection and liver fibrosis. However, the difference in IPV was significant statistically calculated by TVS within 1-12 months (P=0.011) and 4-12 months (P=0.001) between postoperative liver fibrosis group and normal recovery group. Conclusions After pediatric liver transplantation, Tac-IPV decreased in the first 3 years. Increase in Tac-IPV may be associated with poorer clinical outcomes such as liver fibrosis.

Silage can be contaminated with mycotoxins and accidental fungi after aerobic exposure. The study assessed the effects of bunker silos (BS), round bales (RB), and silage bags (SB) on the nutritional characteristics, fermentation quality, aerobic stability, mycotoxin levels and microbial communities of whole-plant corn silage (WPCS). After 90 days of fermentation, silages were opened and sampled at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 days of exposure. SB group conserved higher lactic acid and dry matter contents and a lower pH value than other groups after 9 days of exposure (p

Classical-wave topological materials lacking intrinsic half-integer spins are less robust while more tunable. Here, we explore a single 3-dimensional phononic topological crystalline insulator that simultaneously exhibits a whole family of first-order quadratic surface, second-order hinge, and third-order corner states within the same bandgap. Such a topological crystalline insulator hosting all-order phases originates from the different topological nature when hierarchically projected onto different facets and lower dimensions, thus free from trivial cladding crystals. Our work offers an ideal platform for either robust wave propagation or localization in on-demand dimensions and may facilitate dimension division multiplexing technology.

Summary: Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a severe inherited arrhythmia syndrome that can be unmasked by fever. Methods: A multicentre clinical analysis was performed in 261 patients diagnosed with fever-induced BrS, including 198 (75.9%) and 27 (10.3%) patients who received next-generation genetic sequencing and epicardial arrhythmogenic substrate (AS) mapping, respectively. Findings: In fever-induced BrS patients, pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) SCN5A variant carriers developed fever-induced BrS at a younger age, and more often in females and those of Caucasian descent. They exhibited significant electrophysical abnormalities, including a larger epicardial AS area, and more prolonged abnormal epicardial electrograms. During a median follow-up of 50.5 months (quartiles 32.5–81.5 months) after the diagnosis, major cardiac events (MCE) occurred in 27 (14.4%) patients. Patients with P/LP SCN5A variants had a higher ratio of MCE compared with the rest. Additionally, history of syncope, QRS duration, and Tpe interval could also predict an increased risk for future MCE according to univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis indicated that only P/LP SCN5A variants were independent significant predictors of MCE. Computational structural modelling showed that most variants are destabilizing, suggesting that Nav1.5 structure destabilization caused by SCN5A missense variants may contribute to fever-induced BrS. Interpretation: In our cohort, P/LP SCN5A variant carriers with fever-induced BrS are more prevalent among patients of Caucasian descent, females, and younger patients. These patients exhibit aggressive electrophysiological abnormalities and worse outcome, which warrants closer monitoring and more urgent management of fever. Funding: None.

This study aimed to determine the optimal growth stage and additives for producing high quality millet silage through two experiments. Experiment 1: Whole-plant millet from the same field and under uniform management was harvested at the heading, sizing, milking, dough, and full-maturity stages. Then, it was chopped into 2–3 cm segments, vacuum-sealed in plastic bags without any further treatment, stored at 20 °C, and opened after 60 days. The results indicated that the dough stage had the highest water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein (CP) contents. The lactic acid (LA) and acetic acid (AA) contents during the dough and maturity stages were significantly higher than other stages, with the lowest pH observed during the dough stage. Experiment 2: The whole-plant millet was harvested at the dough stage. It was then chopped into 2–3 cm segments using a forage chopper, mixed thoroughly, and subjected to different treatments—inoculation with 106 CFU/g FM of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP), adding of 1% FM sucrose (S), and a combination of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and sucrose (MIX)—with a control group (CK) receiving an equivalent amount of water. The MIX treatment significantly enhanced the WSC content compared to other treatments (p < 0.05), and both the LP and MIX treatments showed superior LA and AA contents and lactic acid bacteria counts. These additives significantly altered the bacterial community, shifting dominance from Proteobacteria in the CK and raw materials to Firmicutes. Klebsiella dominated the CK group but was significantly reduced in the additive treatments, where Lentilactobacillus became the dominant genus. Therefore, we recommend harvesting millet at the dough stage and adding a mixture of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and sugar to improve fermentation quality and aerobic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite materials have become promising photovoltaic materials due to their excellent optoelectronic properties and low-cost processing techniques. Among them, formamidine-cesium (FA-Cs) lead perovskite has attracted widespread attention because of its ability to enhance the stability of perovskite solar cells. However, large formamidinium (FA) cations cause severe micro-strain in the perovskite film, leading to defects and non-radiative recombination, which significantly impair the efficiency and long-term stability of the devices. In this study, by introducing π-conjugated molecules, such as bromobenzoic acid (BAC) additives, into the perovskite precursor solution, the micro-strain in the film was effectively relieved. Combining their π-electron conjugation at the grain boundaries of the film, they enhanced the carrier transport on the surface of the perovskite, ultimately improving the device efficiency from 22.70% to 24.02%, while also further enhancing the stability of the device. This work provides an effective approach for designing high-performance FA-Cs-based perovskite devices and offers important references for the selection and design of π-conjugated molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the region between two closely located stiff inclusions, the stress, which is the gradient of a solution to the Lamé system with partially infinite coefficients, may become arbitrarily large as the distance between interfacial boundaries of inclusions tends to zero. The primary aim of this paper is to give a sharp description in terms of the asymptotic behavior of the stress concentration, as the distance between interfacial boundaries of inclusions goes to zero. For that purpose, we capture all the blow‐up factor matrices, whose elements comprise of some certain integrals of the solutions in the case when two inclusions are touching. Then, we are able to establish the asymptotic formulas of the stress concentration in the presence of two close‐to‐touching m$$ m $$‐convex inclusions in all dimensions. Furthermore, an example of curvilinear squares with rounded‐off angles is also presented for future application in numerical computations and simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide‐bandgap (WBG) perovskite solar cell (PSC) plays a pivotal role as the top subcell in all‐perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs), facilitating the absorption of high‐energy photons and affording a large open‐circuit voltage (VOC). Nonetheless, the stability and efficiency of WBG PSCs are constrained by light‐induced halide segregation and non‐radiative recombination losses. In this study, this work presents an approach of utilizing 2‐methylpiperazinium bromide (2‐MePBr) via interfacial engineering to realize high‐efficiency WBG (1.77 eV) PSCs. The C─NH─C functional group in 2‐MePBr, serving as an electron donor, can interact with under‐coordinated lead defects at the perovskite surface. Consequently, the treatment with 2‐MePBr mitigates interfacial non‐radiative recombination, enhances charge transport, inhibits ion migration, and thus delivers an improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.30% with a VOC of 1.29 V, and a fill factor of 83.08%. Notably, the WBG PSCs manifest enhanced stability, preserving 80% of the initial PCE after 337 h of continuous operation under 1 sun illumination at the maximum power point. Furthermore, the all‐perovskite TSCs based on this WBG subcell achieve a PCE of 27.47%, showing its promising application in perovskite‐based tandem solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Osteogenic differentiation of aortic valve interstitial cells (AVICs) plays a key role in the calcific aortic valve disease progression. Extracellular vesicles (EVs)-derived from M1-polarized macrophages (M1-EVs) orchestrated intercellular communication by delivering non-coding RNAs such as tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) is crucial for cardiovascular disease. However, the role and mechanism of M1-EVs tsRNAs in osteogenic differentiation of AVICs remains largely unclear. Methods M1-EVs and PBS treated-RAW 264.7 cell-derived EVs (NC-EVs) were incubated with AVICs and subjected to small RNA sequencing. Candidate tsRNA in M1-EVs was silenced to explore their effects on AVIC osteogenic differentiation and mitophagy. Results DiI-labeled M1-EVs were internalized by AVICs, resulting in significantly increased calcium nodule formation and expression of osteogenesis-related genes in AVICs, including RUNX2, BMP2, osteopontin, and SPP1, compared with NC-EVs. Small RNA sequencing revealed that 17 tsRNAs were significantly up-regulated such as tsRNA-5006c, while 28 tsRNAs were significantly down-regulated in M1-EVs compared with NC-EVs. Intriguingly, tsRNA-5006c-deleted M1-EVs treatment significantly reduced calcium nodule formation and expression of osteogenesis-related genes in AVICs relative to control group. Moreover, target genes of tsRNA-5006c were mainly involved in autophagy-related signaling pathways, such as MAPK, Ras, Wnt, and Hippo signaling pathway. Hallmarks of mitophagy activation in AVICs including mitophagosome formation, TMRM fluorescence, expression of LC3-II, BINP3, and PGC1α, were significantly elevated in the M1-EVs group compared with NC-EVs group, whereas M1-EVs tsRNA-5006c inhibitor led to a significant reduction in these indicators. Conclusion M1-EVs carried tsRNA-5006c regulates AVIC osteogenic differentiation from the perspective of mitophagy, and we provide a new target for the prevention and treatment of aortic valve calcification.

BackgroundRetroperitoneal liposarcoma (RPLS) is a variety of soft tissue sarcoma that originates from mesenchymal cells. A tumor measuring greater than 30 cm is called a “giant liposarcoma.” A part of the neoplasm tends to grow in size, recur locally, or metastasize distantly. In those with such a condition, long-term survival is uncommon. Therefore, it is necessary to present a uniform and optimized program to improve the prognosis.MethodsBy successfully treating a multiple-recurrent giant retroperitoneal dedifferentiated liposarcoma (RP DDLPS) in July 2010, we hope to devise more comprehensive strategies to improve diagnosis, therapy, and outcome.ResultsIn July 2010, we thoroughly resected a giant multifocal RPLS with a concomitant part of the gastric wall. The histopathological examination revealed a high-grade (grade III) dedifferentiated liposarcoma. The patient was discharged uneventfully on the 15th postoperative day. She relapsed after 16 months and needed another complete excision. After 9 months, she died after the fourth recidive. The patient had experienced four recurrences and underwent operations with 15 years of follow-up.ConclusionsThe above demonstrates that we were able to successfully treat the multirecurrent giant RPLS, despite the patient’s poor medical condition, with meticulous management. Moreover, this indicates that long-term survival could be achieved for high-grade RP DDLPS.

Shape memory composites based on natural rubber(NR) and trans-polyisoprene(TPI) were prepared, and the effects of carbon black amount on the curing characteristics, physical and mechanical properties, crystallization properties and shape memory properties of the composites were investigated. The results showed that with the increase of carbon black amount, the physical and mechanical properties of the composites were significantly improved, and the tensile strength increased from 17.2 MPa to 23.0 MPa. The addition of carbon black reduced the crystallinity of TPI phase in the composites, and also reduced the shape fixation rate and shape recovery rate of the composites.

Currently, there is not yet a mature evaluation index system of intellectual capital among enterprises. The lack of such a system hinders the smooth transform of capital to enterprise value. Therefore, this paper attempts to set up an effective and objective evaluation index system for intellectual capital. First, the data on intellectual capital were collected from some enterprises from the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). Next, the original data were preprocessed into 1770 effective pieces of data. On this basis, 13 indices were selected from three dimensions (e.g. human capital, structural capital, and relationship capital) of intellectual capital, forming an evaluation index system. After that, the evaluation index system was verified with two machine learning (ML) algorithms, namely, random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM). The results show that our evaluation index system can optimize the intellectual capital classification of enterprises, avoiding the subjective defects in qualitative evaluation. The research results shed important new light on the decision-making and scientific management of enterprises.

Wide-bandgap (wide-E g, ∼1.7 eV or higher) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted extensive attention due to the great potential of fabricating high-performance perovskite-based tandem solar cells via combining with low-bandgap absorbers, which is considered promising to exceed the Shockley–Queisser efficiency limit. However, inverted wide-E g PSCs with a minimized open-circuit voltage (V oc) loss, which are more suitable to prepare all-perovskite tandem devices, are still lacking study. Here, we report a strategy of adding 1,3,5-tris (bromomethyl) benzene (TBB) into wide-E g perovskite absorber to passivate the perovskite film, leading to an enhanced average V oc. Incorporation of TBB prolongs carrier lifetimes in wide-E g perovskite due to reduction of defects in perovskites and makes a better energy level matching between perovskite absorber and electron transport layer. As a result, we achieve the power conversion efficiency of 17.12% for our inverted TBB-doped PSC with an enhanced V oc of 1.19 V, compared with that (16.14%) for the control one (1.14 V).