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Cross-section wood (CW) is generally used as a host for free-standing electrodes, as the abundant opened pores can provide large space for loading guest materials with high electrical conductivity and electrochemical activity. However, there is still a challenge for CW to be used in flexible supercapacitors (SCs) because of its low mechanical strength. Herein, as an alternative to CW, vertical-section wood (VW) with excellent mechanical strength and good flexibility is developed and used as a free-standing and flexible electrode by using Ti

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) is widely involved in various physiological behaviors, such as the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth in plants, tumorigenesis in the human, etc. However, few functional studies have examined pebp genes affecting the development of fungi. In this study, Capebp2 was cloned from Cyclocybe aegerita AC0007 strains based on the genome sequence and gene prediction, and the sequence alignment of CaPEBP2 with other PEBP proteins from other biological sources including plant, animal, fungi, and bacteria indicated that PEBP had low sequence similarity in fungi, whereas all protein sequences had some conserved motifs such as DPDAP and HRY. Expression analysis showed the transcription level of Capebp2 increased approximately 20-fold in fruiting bodies compared with mycelia. To uncover the function of Capebp2 in C. aegetita development, Capebp2 was cloned into a pATH vector driven by the actin promoter for obtaining overexpression transformant lines. Fruiting experiments showed the transformed strains overexpressing Capebp2 exhibited redifferentiation of the cap on their surface, including intact fruiting bodies or partial lamella during fruiting development stage, and the longitudinal section indicated that all regenerated bodies or lamella sprouted from the flesh and shared the epidermis with the mother fruiting bodies. In summary, the sequence characterization of Capebp2, expression level during different development stages, and function on fruiting body development were documented in this study, and these findings provided a reference to study the role of pebp in the development process of basidiomycetes. Importantly, gene mining of pebp, function characterization, and the regulating pathways involved need to be uncovered in further studies.

Lyophyllum deqinense sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Yunnan Province, China, based on morphological features and molecular (ITS and LSU) data. The species can be distinguished by a greyish brown to light brown pileus and obtuse central umbo of the pileus, inrolled margin, globose to subglobose basidiospores (5.7–7.2 × 5.5–6.8 µm), clavate basidia (24–34 × 7–10 µm), cespitose and gregarious habit in soil. L. pallidofumosum is similar to the new species in pileus and stipe color, and shape and size of the basidia, but it lacks an obtuse central umbo, has smaller spores (4.5–5.6 × 4.3–5.4 µm), and sometimes is solitary or subcespitose. The combination of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses indicates that the species belongs to the L. decastes complex.

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common malignant tumor. MicroRNA function and expression abnormalities are closely related to tumor development. Nevertheless, the role of miR-15b-5p in HNSCC remains indistinct. Therefore, we used a bioinformatic analysis approach to study the mechanism and action of miR-15b-5p in HNSCC. Results: MiR-15b-5p was overexpressed in HNSCC cells and its expression levels was closely associated with gender, age, N stage and T stage in patients with HNSCC; the expression of miR-15b-5p in N1- 4 stages were higher than in N0 stage, and in T3- 4 stages than in T1-2 stages. (P < 0.05). Enrichment analysis showed that miR-15b-5p may participate in HNSCC by regulating the retinol metabolism pathway. RDH12 and UGT1A7 were expressed at low levels in HNSCC, with the Spearman’s analysis demonstrating that RDH12 expression was inversely proportional to miR-15b-5p, whereas UGT1A7 expression was directly proportional to miR-15b-5p (PUGT1A10 and UGT1A7 in HNSCC were appreciably lower than those in the control, and the disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with high UGT1A7 expression were appreciably longer than those with low expression (PConclusion: MiR-15b-5p may regulate the retinol metabolism pathway by targeting UGT1A7, thereby affecting HNSCC prognosis. Our results suggest miR-15b-5p may be a novel biomarker to predict the disease progression and prognosis in patients with HNSCC and could provide a theoretical foundation for targeted therapy of HNSCC.

Trade friction in the age of global value chains is primarily due to regulatory diversity. While due to the lack of disciplines in the WTO context on the exercise of regulatory powers by states, it is difficult to eradicate the diversity, regulatory cooperation is key to reducing the restraints that heterogenous regulations may impose on international trade. Recent mega-regional trade agreements have gone beyond the WTO disciplines and put forward novel and ambitious approaches to regulatory cooperation to address behind-the-border non-tariff measures. After a critical review of the new regulatory cooperation mechanisms in three mega-regional trade agreements, this article argues that these new regulatory cooperation mechanisms have spelled out a thick web of procedures that can be used to deliver better quality domestic regulations as well as enhance governmental coordination through joint institutions that monitors the consistency of proposed regulations with treaty commitments. It is still too early to assume that these new initiatives will significantly impact ameliorating the adverse effects of regulatory diversity in international trade. Nevertheless, they break new ground in international economic rule-making and hold great promise.

Objective To investigate the feasibility and safety of Transvaginal Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (V-NOTES) panhysterectomy. Method A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 75 patients who underwent panhysterectomy for hysteromyoma in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Tongxiang Maternal and Child Health Hospital; Department of Gynecology, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC from June 2019 to June 2020. According to the operation mode, the patients were divided into two groups: the traditional Multi-Port Laparoscopic Surgery (MPLS) group (n = 45) and the Transvaginal Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (V-NOTES) group (n = 30). The operation duration, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative exsufflation time, postoperative activity time, hospital stay, treatment cost, 6h activities of daily living (ADL) score after the operation, cosmetic score, visual analog score, and complications were observed in the two groups. Results Perioperative period related indicators: Compared with the MPLS group, the total treatment cost and cosmetic score of the V-NOTES group were significantly better than those of the MPLS group, but the operation duration was longer, and the HB decreased more significantly (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss, postoperative exsufflation time, postoperative activity time, 6h ADL score after the operation, and hospital stay between the two groups (P > 0.05). Postoperative pain: The VAS score 1h, 6h, 12h, and 24h after the operation was lower in the V-NOTES group than in the MPLS group (P < 0.05). Postoperative complications: The complication rate of the V-NOTES group was significantly lower than that of the MPLS group (P < 0.05). Conclusion In treating panhysterectomy patients, both V-NOTES and MPLS can achieve satisfactory efficacy and prognosis, and both have advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, the V-NOTES surgery has significant advantages such as a lower treatment cost, lower incidence of postoperative complications, less pain, and more beautiful wounds.

N-terminal glutamate (E) cyclization to form pyroglutamate (pE) generates charge heterogeneities for mAbs and proteins. Thus far, pE formation rate in lyophilized formulation as compared to in liquid formulation has not been reported. Impact of pE on antibody biological activity has only been predicted or assessed using stressed samples that may contain other confounding degradations besides pE. Additionally, application of hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) to separate pE has not been reported. In our study, N-terminal E cyclization was identified as the major degradation pathway in lyophilized formulation at elevated temperature for both monoclonal antibody (mAb-A) and IgG-like bispecific antibody (bsAb-A). pE was enriched in salt-gradient ion exchange chromatography (IEC) as pre-peak and in HIC as post-peak for both mAb-A and bsAb-A. Structure-function studies with pE-enriched IEC and HIC fractions confirmed that pE did not affect binding activities for mAb-A and bsAb-A. In vitro incubation of bsAb-A in serum and PBS revealed that the serum matrix may play a role in pE conversion in human serum, in contrast to the chemical reaction mechanism reported. These techniques can help in characterization of N-terminal E-to-pE cyclization and quality attribute severity assessment during therapeutic protein product development.

Constructing ordered hierarchical porous electrocatalysts while maintaining their high efficiency and stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is highly desirable but still remains challenging. Herein, hierarchical tri-metal-based hollow nano/micro rod-on-rod array structures, including hydroxides and phosphates, are vertically grown on Cu foam by the cation-exchanging and anion exchanging approaches. Such ordered porous architecture, providing multi metal center, regular interconnection of macropore channel, large electrochemical surface area, small charge-transfer resistance, efficient mass transport and electron transfer for overall water splitting in alkaline media. These obtained hydroxide OER catalysts (CoMn LDH@Cu(OH)2/CF) and phosphide HER catalysts (CoMnP@Cu3P/CF) exhibited low onset potential, low Tafel slope, and prominent durability. Such excellent performance, ordered porous structure and simple preparation methods indicate that this study provides a new strategy for assembling promising catalysts for water splitting and other applications.

It is becoming increasingly evident about interactions between plant hosts and their microbiotas, while the effects of plant communities on microbial communities in different geographic environments are poorly understood. Here, the differentiation of licorice plant ecotypes and the distribution of root-associated microbiotas were investigated across five sampling sites in northwest China. The interactions between the environment, plant and microbial communities, and their effects on licorice root secondary metabolites, were elucidated. The plant community was clearly differentiated into distinct ecotypes based on genotyping-by-sequencing and was primarily driven by geographic distance and soil available nitrogen. The bulk soil and root-associated microbiotas (rhizosphere soil and root endosphere) partially correlated with plant community, but all were significantly discriminated by plant clade. Moreover, these microbiotas were explained to different extents by distinct combinations of environment, geography and plant community. Similarly, three structural equation models showed that licorice root secondary metabolites were complicatedly modulated by multiple abiotic and biotic factors; and were mostly explained by these factors in the rhizosphere model. Collectively, the results provide novel insights into the role of environment-plant-microbiotas interactions in regulating root secondary metabolites. That should be accounted for when selecting appropriate licorice planting sites and management measures. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The highly oriented cellulose microfibrils in secondary cell wall provide a unique advantage for developing super-strength wood. Here, we developed a two-tiered dynamic strategy that realized the self-densified wood by adequate swelling and moisture evaporation process without further hot pressing or via chemical oxidation pre-treatment. Our method requires only exposing delignified wood to a poor solvent that is able to infiltrate the cellulose skeleton without molecular-level dissolution, thus facilitating the effective penetration of moisture upon water replacement. The following natural moisture evaporation triggers self-aggregation of cellulose fibrils accompanying with dynamic re-formation of hydrogen bonds, thereby leading to a super-high mechanical strength (tensile strength: 596.24 ± 57.01 MPa, toughness: 10.43 ± 2.07 MJ m−3, and flexural strength: 418.51 ± 23.86 MPa (balsa wood), 296.52 ± 10.41 MPa (pine wood)) to the resulting self-densified wood. More importantly, the swollen wood has the hydroplastic processing ability (using air-drying to design the shapes). The “cold” processing method satisfies the self-densification for various species of wood, providing a general strengthening strategy.