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Drawing from the group engagement model of justice, we examine how and when higher abusive supervision relates to fewer safety behaviors and worse safety performance. In Study 1, a 2-wave survey study of 468 manufacturing technicians, we found that belongingness need satisfaction mediated the negative relationship between abusive supervision and safety behavior. In Study 2, a multiwave survey study of 589 airline pilots, we found that safety behavior mediated the adverse relationship between abusive supervision and downstream objective safety performance. Higher trait social standing uncertainty was associated with a stronger adverse relationship between abusive supervision and safety. Indirect relationships of abusive supervision with safety behavior (Study 1) and safety performance (Study 2) were stronger among individuals with higher social standing uncertainty. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for managing abusive supervision and safety at work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

At present, Western theoretical circles have gradually reached a goal-oriented consensus on “civic participation in public management.” This study provides an in-depth discussion of this synchronic view. At present, China’s political and economic environment, government, and citizens’ quality have undergone positive changes. The Chinese government has accelerated the practice of public management reform. Of course, there are also regional imbalances in the process of improving the public management mechanism in China. At the level of citizens, government, and society, there is a mismatch between supply and demand. With the increasing demands of citizens, the contradictions and crises in social life and public management are still intensifying. After clarifying these “risks” and “lag,” the study makes recommendations for the practice of “citizen-participatory public management” in China. This paper studies from three dimensions of citizen’s subjectivity, interpersonality, and sociality and specifically explores organizational flexibility, flattening, and diversity. The study expects to build a cooperative relationship between citizens and the environment and then build a “citizen participation” government. “Public management” has not been carried out in China for a long time, and its practicality is still limited. In this new management mode, realizing the benign interaction between citizens and the government is the key to the research. An important breakthrough point is to continue to nurture and develop community organizations (nonprofit organizations). This is because, by nurturing and developing community organizations, citizens can be provided with areas to realize their potential and achieve their aspirations. At the same time, this will also contribute to the multidimensional and diversified development of the organization. Most importantly, community organizations make public organizations more adaptable to the adjustment and integration of the external environment.

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the impacts of body off-center positioning on CT numbers and dose index CTDIv of two scanners from GE. HD750 and APEX scanners were used to acquire a PBU60 phantom of Kagaku and a 062M phantom of CIRS respectively. CT images were acquired at various off-center positions under automatic tube current modulation using various peak voltages. CTDIv were recorded for each of the acquisitions. An abdomen section of the PBU60 phantom was used for CT number analysis and tissue inserts of the 062M phantom were filled with water balloons to mimic the human abdomen. CT numbers of central regions of interests were averaged using the Fiji software. As phantoms were lifted above the iso-center, both CTDIv and CT numbers were increased for the HD750 scanner whilst they were approximately constant for the APEX scanner. The measured sizes of anterior-posterior projection images were also increased for both scanners whilst the sizes of lateral projection images were increased for the HD750 scanner but decreased for the APEX scanner. Off-center correction algorithms were implemented in the APEX scanner. Matching the X-ray projection center with the system’s iso-center could improve the accuracy of CT imaging.

Group-VA two-dimensional layered materials in a puckered honeycomb structure exhibit strong in-plane anisotropy and have emerged as new platforms for novel devices. Here, we report on systematic Raman investigations on exfoliated b-As flakes on the Ag1 and Ag2 polarization dependence on their symmetry, excitation wavelength, and flake thickness. The intensity maximums of both phonons are corrected in the b-As armchair direction under 633 nm excitation regardless of the flake thickness upon considering optical birefringence effects and interference effects. The intensity ratio of Ag1 to Ag2 modes under 532 nm excitation is useful for b-As crystalline orientation identification. Temperature-dependent Raman investigations reveal the linearly anharmonic behaviors of both phonons in the range from 173 to 293 K and a slightly greater first-order temperature coefficient in the zigzag direction. Our findings give deep insight into the in-plane phonon anisotropy and anharmonicity of b-As and provide a step toward future device applications.

Discrete sample experiments are being carried out in natural science, and small numbers of human subjects are recruited from general populations for experiments in social science. Varied degrees of uncertainty exist in discrete sample studies. Scientific knowledge must be validated and generalizable in the general population. Quantitative research is expected to provide a degree of certainty on knowledge claims. Descriptive statistics are used to describe the characteristics of measured data and any possible relationships among variables. The occurrence frequency or probability density distributions from descriptive statistics can be used for statistical significance tests and integrated as accumulative probability functions for performance tests of various systems. Inferential statistics are used to draw conclusions from the studies, either by testing relationships drawn from descriptive statistics or theoretical models (hypotheses) for their generalizability at a defined confidence level. The statistical signal detection theory is the basis for both hypothesis testing in randomized controlled trials and receiver operating characteristics studies in radiology as well as many practical statistical tests. A generalized linear regression model can be used to establish causal relationships among multiple variables of measured data in multiple measurement scales.

This paper’s purpose is to test the employability paradox by adopting a combined linear and non-linear approach based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory and the prospect theory and further to discuss it in two groups of employees with different seniority following the career timetable perspective. A total of 623 pairs of matched employee and manager surveys was collected from 27 Chinese enterprises in two waves. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The results show no paradox that perceived employability promotes both an employee’s turnover intention and performance. Specifically, perceived employability has a significant inverted U-shaped effect on turnover intention but no direct influence on job performance. Seniority is a moderator, showing the curvilinear relationship only exhibits for employees with shorter work seniority (≤3 years), and a positive linear relationship between perceived employability and job performance only exists for employees with longer seniority (>3 years). This study emphasizes the value of employability for employers and proposes who is more suitable and what timetable should be followed for employability enhancement in practice. In addition, the study provides an enlightening finding of the inverted U-shaped relationship between perceived employability and turnover intention, applies the COR theory and the prospect theory to explain the non-linear relationship, validates the effect of too much of a good thing (TMGT), and negates the paradox from the perspective of the perceived general employability and career timetable.

INTRODUCTION Patient positioning is an essential consideration for the optimisation of radiation dose during CT examinations. The study objectives seek to explore the effects of vertical off-centring, localiser direction (0° and 180°), and phantom positioning (supine and prone) on radiation dose, using three different tube voltages in multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging. METHODS The trunk of a PBU-60 anthropomorphic phantom was imaged using a Discovery CT750 HD - 128 slice (GE Healthcare). Images employing 0° and 180° localisers were acquired in supine and prone orientation for each combination of vertical off-centring (±100, ±60 and ±30 mm) and different tube voltages (80, 120 and 140 kVp), using the system's automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) function. The displayed volume CT dose index (CTDIvol ) and dose length product (DLP) were recorded. RESULTS With incremental table off-centring of ±100 mm, the dose at 120 kVp in the supine position ranged from 63% to 196% (0° localiser) and from 66% to 191% (180° localiser) as compared to iso-centre. While in the prone position, the dose ranged from 62% to 195% (0° localiser); and 62% to 193% (180° localiser), with a notable dose increase at higher tube voltages. Dose variation and vertical off-centring showed a significant relationship for both 0° and 180° localisers (r = 0.94 and 0.96, respectively, P

Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer treatment, in which durable immune responses were generated in patients with malignant tumors. In the past decade, biomaterials have played vital roles as smart drug delivery systems for cancer immunotherapy to achieve both enhanced therapeutic benefits and reduced side effects. Hydrogels as one of the most biocompatible and versatile biomaterials have been widely applied in localized drug delivery systems due to their unique properties, such as loadable, implantable, injectable, degradable and stimulus responsible. Herein, we have briefly summarized the recent advances on hydrogel-by-design delivery systems including the design of hydrogels and their applications for delivering of immunomodulatory molecules (e.g., cytokine, adjuvant, checkpoint inhibitor, antigen), immune cells and environmental regulatory substances in cancer immunotherapy. We have also discussed the challenges and future perspectives of hydrogels in the development of cancer immunotherapy for precision medicine at the end.

Objectives: This pilot experimental study explores the effect of vertical off-centring on CT numbers in combination with various tube voltages and phantom sizes.Methods: A CIRS Model 062 Electron Density and Combined Head and Body phantom underwent imaging using a Siemens Emotion 16-slice CT and GEMINI GXL scanners. Uniformity was evaluated as a function of vertical off-centring (20, 40, 60, and 80 mm above the gantry iso-centre) using different phantom sizes and tube voltage for ROI positions across the X and Y axis of each phantom. CT number change was assessed by comparing the measured values between anterior (upper) versus posterior (lower) ROIs.Results: The results showed that vertical off-centring and phantom size could account for 92% of the recorded variance and resultant CT number change. The uniformity test recorded a maximum change of 27.2 and 14 HU for peripheral ROIs at 80 mm phantom shift above the gantry iso-centre using the GEMINI GXL and Siemens scanners, respectively. The absolute CT number differences between anterior and posterior ROIs were 13.7 for the 30 cm phantom and 4.8 for the 20 cm phantom at 80 mm vertical off-centring. The most remarkable differences were observed at lower tube voltages.Conclusions: It is essential to highlight the significance of optimal patient centring for CT examinations and the consequences of CT numbers variation on clinical decision making. Phantom off-centring and ROI location have been demonstrated to affect CT number uniformity in this pilot experimental study. This was more evident at peripheral phantom areas, lower tube voltages and larger phantom size.

At present, cancer is the first cause of death for humans, but early detection and treatment can help improve prognoses and reduce mortality. However, further development of carrier-assistant drug delivery systems (DDSs) is retarded by the aspects such as the low drug-carrying capacity, carrier-induced toxicity and immunogenicity, complex synthesis manipulation. The development of nanoscale drug delivery systems (NDDS) have been rapidly developed to address these issues. In this article, we used PLGA-PEG with good biocompatibility to encapsulate Fe3O4 nanoparticles (a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent) and DOX (an antitumour drug) via the emulsion-solvent evaporation method, aimed at achieving a dual function of the early detection and the treatment of mammary cancer. The results showed that the Fe3O4/DOX/PLGA-PEG nanoparticles had a relatively uniform size, a high carrier rate of Fe3O4 and high encapsulation efficiency of DOX, and a relatively high activity of released DOX within 120 h. In addition, in vitro studies showed that the Fe3O4/DOX/PLGA-PEG nanoparticles were cytocompatibility in NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells culture study while had a special effect on destroying human breast cancer MCF-7 cells compared with pure DOX solution. In vitro studies revealed that the Fe3O4/DOX/PLGA-PEG enabled enhanced T2 contrast magnetic resonance. Overall, our multifunctional Fe3O4/DOX/PLGA-PEG nanoparticles, composed of biocompatible substances and therapeutic/imaging materials, have great potential for the early detection of cancer and accurate drug delivery via the dynamic monitoring using MRI.

A two-phased retrospective cross-sectional study analysed the occupational dose and radiation protection practice among medical workers in two hospitals in the UAE. Phase 1 evaluated radiation protection practice using a questionnaire, whereas phase 2 assessed the occupational dose. Readings of 952 thermoluminescence dosimeters were analyzed. The result showed 52% of medical workers have a good level of radiation protection practice. Readings of 952 thermoluminescence dosimeters were analyzedAverage annual effective dose per worker ranged from 0.39 to 0.83 mSv. Cardiologists and nurses displayed a higher average of occupational radiation dose compared to other workers. There were no significant correlations between radiation protection practice and hospital, occupation or department. Finally, the occupational dose was within the international and national limits, but the reduction of radiation dose to cardiologist and nurses is essential. Moreover, training is essential to promote radiation safe practice among medical workers.

The Notch–Delta signaling pathway is a highly conserved signaling system that partakes in a diverse process of growth, patterns and differentiation. Experiments have shown that Delta from different cells activates this pathway (trans-activation) while Delta from the same cell inhibits this pathway (cis-inhibition). The Notch–Delta interactions could switch a cell to one of the two opposite fates: either Sender (high Delta/low Notch) or Receiver (low Delta/high Notch). We studied a Notch–Delta signaling model from Sprinzak et al., (2010), to investigate the cell fate through steady state analysis. The focus was placed on a fundamental case of one single cell with fixed external Delta and Notch supplies. First, we proved there exists a unique steady state which is asymptotically stable. Second, we derived the increasing/decreasing and asymptotic properties of the steady state with respect to all the parameters. Third, we studied the sensitivity and discovered the cell fate is only sensitive to the production rates of Notch and Delta under strong cis-inhibition. Finally, we applied this model to multi-cellular cases and found that the lateral inhibition pattern could be created with the spatially varied Delta production rate. The Hopf bifurcation is not observed in the current model.

As Charles Darwin anticipated, living fossils provide excellent opportunities to study evolutionary questions related to extinction, competition, and adaptation. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.) is one of the oldest living plants and a fascinating example of how people have saved a species from extinction and assisted its resurgence. By resequencing 545 genomes of ginkgo trees sampled from 51 populations across the world, we identify three refugia in China and detect multiple cycles of population expansion and reduction along with glacial admixture between relict populations in the southwestern and southern refugia. We demonstrate multiple anthropogenic introductions of ginkgo from eastern China into different continents. Further analyses reveal bioclimatic variables that have affected the geographic distribution of ginkgo and the role of natural selection in ginkgo’s adaptation and resilience. These investigations provide insights into the evolutionary history of ginkgo trees and valuable genomic resources for further addressing various questions involving living fossil species., Ginkgo is one of the living fossils from the plant kingdom. Here, authors conduct population genomics analyses to reveal its refugia and demographic history, and provide evidence of multiple anthropogenic introductions of ginkgo from eastern China into different continents.

Various studies have recognized the importance of humility as a foundational aspect of virtuous leadership and have revealed the beneficial effects of leader humility on employee moral attitudes and behaviors. However, these findings may overestimate the benefits of leader humility and overlook its potential costs. Integrating person–supervisor fit theory and balance theory with the humility literature, we employ a dyadic approach to consider supervisor and employee humility simultaneously. We investigate whether and how the (in)congruence of supervisor and employee humility influences employee citizenship and deviance behaviors. We conducted a multilevel, multiphase, and multisource field study to test our hypotheses. The results of cross-level polynomial regression analyses revealed that when supervisors and employees were incongruent in humility, employees experienced higher levels of negative affect toward supervisors. Also, compared to those in low–low congruent dyads, employee negative affect toward supervisors was lower in high–high congruent dyads. The results further revealed asymmetric incongruence effects: employees experienced the highest levels of negative affect toward supervisors when their own humility was lower than their supervisors’. In addition, we found that employee negative affect toward supervisors mediated the impacts of supervisor–employee (in)congruence in humility on employee organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior.

Atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) heterostructures have attracted increasing attention because of their unprecedented potential in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics. However, selective growth of either lateral or vertical TMDC heterostructures remains challenging. Here, we report that lateral and vertical MoS2/MoSe2 epitaxial heterostructures can be successfully fabricated via a one-step growth strategy, which includes triggering by the concentration of sulfur precursor vapor and a high-temperature annealing process. Vertically stacked MoS2/MoSe2 heterostructures can be synthesized via control of the nucleation and growth kinetics, which is induced by high sulfur vapor concentration. The high-temperature annealing process results in the formation of fractured MoSe2 and in situ epitaxial growth of lateral MoSe2-MoS2 heterostructures. This study has revealed the importance of sulfur vapor concentration and high-temperature annealing processes in the controllable growth of MoSe2-MoS2 heterostructures, paving a new route for fabricating two-dimensional TMDC heterostructures.

Arterial stiffness and blood pressure (BP) both increase with aging synchronously. Whether elevated BP results from thickening of arterial wall or vice versa is controversial in previous studies. This study included 17 862 participants without history of myocardial infarction, stroke, atrial fibrillation or flutter, or cancer and with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and BP measurements during 2010 to 2016. Age was calculated from the self-reported birthdate to the first date of baPWV examination. Mediation analyses were applied to assess the mediation effect by baPWV in the association between age and BP. Temporal relation between baPWV and BP was assessed by cross-lagged analyses among 1508 participants with repeated assessment of baPWV. We found that systolic BP increased 0.47 (95% CI, 0.45–0.49) mm Hg per 1 year older by the mediation effect of baPWV and that the direct effect of aging on systolic BP was −0.07 (95% CI, −0.09 to −0.05) mm Hg per 1 year older. The standard regression coefficient from baseline baPWV to follow-up systolic BP was 0.09 (95% CI, 0.04–0.15), which was greater than the standard regression coefficient from baseline systolic BP to follow-up baPWV (0.01; 95% CI, −0.04 to 0.06). Arterial stiffness mediated the positive association between aging and BP, and arterial stiffness might precede elevated BP. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn . Unique identifier: ChiCTR-TNRC-11001489.

The occurrence of parallel speciation strongly implies the action of natural selection. However, it is unclear how general a phenomena parallel speciation is since it was only shown in a small number of animal species. In particular, the adaptive process and mechanisms underlying the process of parallel speciation remain elusive. Here, we used an integrative approach incorporating population genomics, common garden, and crossing experiments to investigate parallel speciation of the wild rice species Oryza nivara from O. rufipogon. We demonstrated that O. nivara originated multiple times from different O. rufipogon populations and revealed that different O. nivara populations have evolved similar phenotypes under divergent selection, a reflection of recurrent local adaptation of ancient O. rufipogon populations to dry habitats. Almost completed premating isolation was detected between O. nivara and O. rufipogon in the absence of any postmating barriers between and within these species. These results suggest that flowering time is a “magic” trait that contributes to both local adaptation and reproductive isolation in the origin of wild rice species. Our study thus demonstrates a convincing case of parallel ecological speciation as a consequence of adaptation to new environments.

Removal of expression of concern for ‘Controllable 2H-to-1T′ phase transition in few-layer MoTe2’ by Yuan Tan et al., Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 19964–19971.

The realization of p–n homojunctions, which can be achieved via spatially controlled carrier-type modulation, remains a challenge for two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. Here, we report an effective method to tune intrinsic n-type few-layer MoSe2 to p-type through controlling precisely the ultraviolet-ozone treatment time, which can be attributed to the surface charge transfer from the underlying MoSe2 to MoOx (x < 3). The resulting hole mobility and concentration are ∼20.1 cm2 V−1 s−1 and ∼1.9 × 1012 cm−2, respectively, and the on–off ratio is ∼105, which are comparable to the values of pristine n-type MoSe2. Moreover, the lateral p–n homojunction prepared by partially treating MoSe2 displays a high rectification ratio of 2.4 × 104, an ideality factor of 1.1, and a high photoresponsivity of 0.23 A W−1 to the 633 nm laser at Vd = 0 V and Vg = 0 V due to the built-in potential in the p–n homojunction area. Our findings ensure the MoSe2 p–n diode as a promising candidate for future low-power operating photodevices.

Over the past few decades, a growing number of women have been becoming entrepreneurs and assuming a greater percentage of leader roles in the world. In this research, we develop a model, grounded in a family embeddedness perspective and expectancy violations theory, that explores why and when women entrepreneurs behave dominantly in the workplace, and what consequences this pattern produces. We propose that when a female entrepreneur is the primary income earner at home, she is more likely to behave dominantly in the workplace, and subsequently, her workplace dominance is positively related to subjective firm performance. Less industry experience strengthens the positive relationship between being the primary income earner and workplace dominance, and further accentuates the indirect effect of being the primary income earner on subjective firm performance through workplace dominance. Data collected from 58 women entrepreneurs and 271 members of their top management teams in China through a two-wave survey support our hypotheses.

This article builds on the scant literature regarding antecedents and consequences of employee thriving, a positive psychological state characterized by the joint experience of vitality and learning. Guided by conservation of resource (COR) theory and the social embeddedness perspective, we predict that the social-network centrality of employees helps them buffer against the negative effects of abusive supervision. Via a pilot study, a field study, and two scenario-based experiments, we find patterns supporting our hypotheses. Specifically, employees’ perception of abusive supervision is negatively associated with their level of thriving and, thereby also, with their performance-related outcomes such as task performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and creativity. However, abusive supervision’s negative association with employees’ thriving weakens when employees are more central in their advice and friendship networks. Our research adds to the sparse but growing literature on thriving, and supplements the mostly reactive- and/or dyadic-oriented strategies previously identified as ways to cope with abusive supervisors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Shao J, Liang R, Ding D, Zheng X, et al.Int J Nanomedicine. 2021;16:2897–2915. The authors have advised due to an error at the time offigure assembly, Figure 8F on page 2911 is incorrect. Thecorrect Figure 8 is shown below. The authors apologize for this error and advise it does notaffect the results of the paper. Read the original article

At present, most comprehensive energy planning methods aim at economy. A distributed integrated energy system planning method considering reliability and integrated demand response is proposed. This method considers that IDR can effectively realize the peak valley cutting of load characteristics, improve the system economy, and increase the reliability constraint penalty cost to make it more realistic. The example results show that the proposed method can consider the economy and reliability of configuration results under different conditions, and realize the selection of equipment.

Stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) enhance neurological recovery in preclinical stroke models by secreting extracellular vesicles (EVs). Since previous reports have focused on the application of MSC-EVs only, the role of the most suitable host cell for EV enrichment and preclinical stroke treatment remains elusive. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of EVs derived from neural progenitor cells (NPCs) following experimental stroke. Using the PEG technique, EVs were enriched and characterized by electron microscopy, proteomics, rt-PCR, nanosight tracking analysis, and Western blotting. Different dosages of NPC-EVs displaying a characteristic profile in size, shape, cargo protein, and non-coding RNA contents were incubated in the presence of cerebral organoids exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), significantly reducing cell injury when compared with control organoids. Systemic administration of NPC-EVs in male C57BL6 mice following experimental ischemia enhanced neurological recovery and neuroregeneration for as long as 3 months. Interestingly, the therapeutic impact of such NPC-EVs was found to be not inferior to MSC-EVs. Flow cytometric analyses of blood and brain samples 7 days post-stroke demonstrated increased blood concentrations of B and T lymphocytes after NPC-EV delivery, without affecting cerebral cell counts. Likewise, a biodistribution analysis after systemic delivery of NPC-EVs revealed the majority of NPC-EVs to be found in extracranial organs such as the liver and the lung. This proof-of-concept study supports the idea of EVs being a general concept of stem cell–induced neuroprotection under stroke conditions, where EVs contribute to reverting the peripheral post-stroke immunosuppression. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12975-020-00814-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ultraviolet-Ozone (UVO) treatment has potentially promoted the long-term stability and the high performance of two-dimensional-material-based devices. However, the detailed evolutions of materials upon UVO treatment are less reported and unclear. Herein, we have systematically investigated the evolutions of morphology and electronic properties of the UVO treated few-layered MoS2. A weak p-doping effect on a 1-hour-UVO-exposed bulk MoS2 is revealed by photoelectron spectroscopy, being attributed to the charge transfer from MoS2 to the newly-formed MoOx. Optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman and PL mapping measurements reveal an inhomogeneous change of MoS2 morphology after UVO treatment. The oxidation is initiated at intrinsic defect sites and dislocations, and then expands in-plane from dislocations to both sides to form one dimensional standing-wave-like features. The dangling-bond-free surface regions remain smooth, being attributed to the higher energetic barrier for O2 dissociation and chemisorption. A model is proposed to explain the mechanism of inhomogeneous oxidation. The rather different oxidation behavior of MoS2 compared with MoSe2 and MoTe2 can be attributed to the difference in the in-plane chemical bonds. Our findings remind that the device design with UVO oxidation need to take the microstructure changes after treatment into account instead of only taking notice of the doping effect for performance improvement.

Interaction between stromal cells and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells in bone marrow (BM) is known to contribute importantly to chemoresistance and disease recurrence. Therefore, disruption of a crosstalk between AML cells and BM microenvironment may offer a promising therapeutic strategy for AML treatment. Here, we demonstrate that in a niche-like co-culture system, AML cells took up functional mitochondria from bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and inhibition of such mitochondrial transfer by metformin, the most commonly prescribed drug for type 2 diabetes mellitus, significantly enhanced the chemosensitivity of AML cells co-cultured with BMSCs. The chemo-sensitizing effect of metformin was acted through reducing the mitochondrial transfer and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in the recipient AML cells. In addition, metformin potentiated the antitumor efficacy of cytarabine (Ara-C) in vivo in an NCG immunodeficient mouse xenograft model by inhibiting the mitochondrial transfer and OXPHOS activity in the engrafted human AML cells. Altogether, this study identifies a potential application of metformin in sensitizing AML cells to chemotherapy and unveils a novel mechanism by which metformin executes such effect via blocking the mitochondrial transfer from stromal cells to AML cells.

Primary Sjögren's Disease (pSjD) is considered a B cell-mediated disease. Toll-like receptor 10 (TLR10) is highly expressed in human B cells, indicating that TLR10 probably plays a vital role in pSjD. We examined TLR10 expression in peripheral B subsets of pSjD patients and analyzed their association with disease activity. We observed that TLR10 expression in total, naïve, memory, and switched memory B cells was significantly increased in low-activity pSjD patients as compared with healthy controls and high-activity patients. TLR10 expression in the above mentioned B subsets (except naïve B) was negatively correlated with serum levels of anti-SSA antibody and BAFF, respectively. Moreover, a higher proportion of high-activity pSjD patients was observed in TLR10 low- than high-expressed patients. Our study concluded that TLR10 expression in CD19

With the increasing proportion of renewable energy in the power system, energy storage technology is gradually developed and updated. The mechanical elastic energy storage is a new physical energy storage technology, and its energy storage form is elastic potential energy. Compared with other physical energy storage forms, this kind of energy storage system has its own characteristics and advantages. Firstly, the structure and working principle of mechanical elastic energy storage system are introduced in this paper. Secondly, the modular push-pull mechanical assembly technology of series linked energy storage tank group is designed, which greatly simplifies the installation process of energy storage tank group. And the mathematical model of the energy storage tank group is established, which provides the design criteria for the operation power/energy storage capacity of the energy storage system. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed energy storage technology is verified by experiments.

Over the past 30 years, human disturbance and habitat fragmentation have severely endangered the survival of common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) in China. A better understanding of the genetic structure of O. rufipogon populations will therefore be useful for the development of conservation strategies. We examined the diversity and genetic structure of natural O. rufipogon populations at the national, provincial, and local levels using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Twenty representative populations from sites across China showed high levels of genetic variability, and approximately 44% of the total genetic variation was among populations. At the local level, we studied fourteen populations in Guangxi Province and four populations in Jiangxi Province. Populations from similar ecosystems showed less genetic differentiation, and local environmental conditions rather than geographic distance appeared to have influenced gene flow during population genetic evolution. We identified a triangular area, including northern Hainan, southern Guangdong, and southwestern Guangxi, as the genetic diversity center of O. rufipogon in China, and we proposed that this area should be given priority during the development of ex situ and in situ conservation strategies. Populations from less common ecosystem types should also be given priority for in situ conservation.

Accumulation of anthocyanin is a desirable trait to be selected in rice domestication, but the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice remains largely unknown. In this study, a novel allele of chromogen gene C, OrC1, from Oryza rufipongon was cloned and identified as a determinant regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Although OrC1 functions in purple apiculus, leaf sheath and stigma in indica background, it only promotes purple apiculus in japonica. Transcriptome analysis revealed that OrC1 regulates flavonoid biosynthesis pathway and activates a few bHLH and WD40 genes of ternary MYB-bHLH-WD40 complex in indica. Differentially expressed genes and metabolites were found in the indica and japonica backgrounds, indicating that OrC1 activated the anthocyanin biosynthetic genes OsCHI, OsF3H, OsANS, OsINS and OsANR and produced six metabolites independently. Artificial selection and domestication of C1 gene in rice occurred on the coding region in the two subspecies independently. Our results reveal the regulatory system and domestication of C1, provide new insights into MYB transcript factor involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, and show the potential of engineering anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice.Author summaryAccumulation of anthocyanin is a selection trait in rice domestication, whereas the mechanisms regulating the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in rice remain unresolved. Here, a novel allele of chromogen gene C from wild rice (Oryza rufipongon) was identified as a determinant regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis. A key question is to what extent the involvement of the C1 gene can explain coloration variability of cultivated rice, where anthocyanin accumulation has been eliminated by artificial selection. Our results reveal the functional chromogen gene C from wild rice causes different coloration phenotypes, regulates various anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and produces different metabolites in indica and japonica. Artificial selection and domestication of the C1 gene in rice only occurs within the coding region of the two subspecies independently.

Two subspecies of rice, Oryza sativa ssp. indica and O. sativa ssp. japonica, with reproductive isolation and differences in morphology and phenotypic differences, were established during the process of rice domestication. To understand how domestication has changed the transcriptomes of the two rice subspecies and given rise to the phenotypic differences, we obtained approximately 700 Gb RNA-Seq data from 26 indica and 25 japonica accessions, and identified 97,005 transcribed fragments and 4579 novel transcriptionally active regions. The two rice subspecies had significantly different gene expression profiles, we identified 1,357 (3.3% in all genes) differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between indica and japonica rice. Combining existing gene function studies, it is found that some of these differential genes are related to the differentiation of the two subspecies, such as grain shape and cold tolerance, etc. Functional annotation of these DEGs indicates that they are involved in cell wall biosynthesis and reproductive processes. Furthermore, compared with the non-DEGs, the DEGs from both subspecies had more 5′flanking regions with low polymorphism to divergence ratios, indicating a stronger positive selection pressure on the regulation of the DEGs. This study improves our understanding of the rice genome by comparatively analyzing the transcriptomes of indica and japonica rice and identifies DEGs those may be responsible for the reproductive isolation and phenotypic differences between the two rice subspecies.

Early diagnosis and complete resection of the tumor is an important way to improve the quality of life of patients with gastric cancer. In recent years, near-infrared (NIR) materials show great potential in fluorescence-based imaging of the tumors. To realize a satisfying intraoperative fluorescence tumor imaging, there are two pre-requirements. One is to obtain a stable agent with a relatively longer circulation time. The second is to make it good biocompatible and specific targeting to the tumor. Here, we developed an RGD-modified Distearyl acylphosphatidyl ethanolamine-polyethylene glycol micelle (DSPE-PEG-RGD) to encapsulate indocyanine green (ICG) for targeting fluorescence imaging of gastric cancer, aimed at realizing tumor-targeted accumulation and NIR imaging. 1H NMR spectroscopy confirmed its molecular structure. The characteristics and stability results indicated that the DSPE-PEG-RGD@ICG had a relatively uniform size of

Low temperature is a major environmental factor that limits plant growth and productivity. Although transient elevation of cytoplasmic calcium has long been recognized as a critical signal for plant cold tolerance, the calcium channels responsible for this process have remained largely elusive. Here we report that OsCNGC9, a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel, positively regulates chilling tolerance by mediating cytoplasmic calcium elevation in rice (Oryza sativa). We showed that the loss-of-function mutant of OsCNGC9 is defective in cold-induced calcium influx and more sensitive to prolonged cold treatment, whereas OsCNGC9 overexpression confers enhanced cold tolerance. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that in response to chilling stress, OsSAPK8, a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana OST1, phosphorylates and activates OsCNGC9 to trigger Ca2+ influx. Moreover, we found that the transcription of OsCNGC9 is activated by a rice dehydration-responsive element-binding transcription factor, OsDREB1A. Taken together, our results suggest that OsCNGC9 enhances chilling tolerance in rice through regulating cold-induced calcium influx and cytoplasmic calcium elevation.