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Abstract: Fabrication of 12-tungstophosphoric acid-(dihydro)imidazolium cation ionic complexes incorporated into SBA-15 mesoporous silicas was achieved via a one-pot procedure including prehydrolyzation of tetraethoxysilane in the presence of surfactant (EO20PO70EO20), addition of 1-trimethoxysilylpropyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride or N-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl), N(3)-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl-4,5-dihydroimidazolium chloride, and successive addition of 12-tungstophosphoric acid. The obtained composite materials were well characterized. XRD, TEM, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption results indicated that the composite materials possessed good mesoporous character. FT-IR, ICP, and solid-state NMR analyses showed 12-tungstophosphoric acid-(dihydro)imidazolium cation ionic complexes had been incorporated into SBA-15 mesoporous silicas with intact structure of organic moieties and Keggin units. Using H2O2-mediated selective alcohol oxidations in aqueous media as test reactions, it was found that the occasion of adding HPW, together with the location of the (dihydro)imidazolium cations in the mesostructures, played a crucial role in 12-tungstophosphoric acid loading and ultimate catalytic performance. Under optimum conditions, our catalysts showed better catalytic efficiency and reusability than their analog prepared by a multistep process due to better dispersion of the Keggin units, higher structural stability, and lower leaching level of active Keggin units. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the railway advancement of speed and load capacity, new high‐power diesel locomotives occupy a prominent position. Due to the susceptibility of onboard signal equipment comprised of microelectronic devices, the diesel locomotive's traction motor (TM) may produce serious disturbance to cab signalling, possibly distorting the signal pattern via receiving coils, even resulting in mutation and decoding error of cab signals. However, the existing research studies pay little attention to this electromagnetic interference problem. This paper studies the radiated alternating magnetic field of the TM and interference coupling path to onboard equipment. It first analyses the cab signalling working principle and clarifies the interference mechanism, focussing on the quantitative analysis of the radiated magnetic field and interference electromotive force. Then, based on the ANSYS platform, the finite element method is used to complete modelling, simulation, and verification. Finally, combined with the railway field data, a typical interference case is analysed, verifying that the distorted signal pulses under the radiated magnetic field are the primary cause of decoding failures. This research establishes the quantitative relationship between the traction radiation intensity and the interference amplitude on signals, helping explore the countermeasures, improve the cab signal decoding accuracy, and ensure transportation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• HK/MCFs-x composites were successfully synthesized. • HK/MCFs-x composites exhibited good water resistance stability. • The thermodynamics and kinetics of the HK/MCFS-1 were studied. • The Langmuir-Freundlich model and pseudo-first-order equation could be used to describe the CO 2 adsorption of the HK/MCFs-1. In this work, a series of HK/MCFs-x sorbents consisting of metal organic framework (HKUST-1) and mesocellular foams (MCFs) were prepared using solvothermal method. The samples were characterized by various techniques including XRD, N 2 adsorption/desorption, TG, SEM, FT-IR, and water vapor adsorption, respectively. The CO 2 adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetic curves at different temperatures were obtained. Results showed that the Langmuir-Freundlich model and pseudo-first-order equation could be used to describe the CO 2 adsorption isotherms and kinetic curves, thus proving the exothermic, multilayer, physical adsorption processes. The isosteric heats of adsorption of the pure HKUST-1 and HK/MCFs-1 were in the range of 19–26 KJ/mol. The mass-transfer coefficient increased along with the temperature. The adsorption activation energies of the pure HKUST-1 and HK/MCFs-1 were 4.150 and 4.203 KJ/mol, respectively. Compared with the pure HKUST-1, HK/MCFs-1 had a substantially equivalent amount of CO 2 adsorption capacity under the same conditions, while the water resistance was improved. The CO 2 mass-transfer rate was higher than the pure HKUST-1. Meanwhile, HK/MCFs-1 also showed better recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of molecular markers and phenotypes to select superior parents has become the goal of modern breeders. In this study, 491 upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) accessions were genotyped using the CottonSNP80K array and then a core collection (CC) was constructed. Superior parents with high fiber quality were identified using molecular markers and phenotypes based on the CC. The Nei diversity index, Shannon's diversity index, and polymorphism information content among chromosomes for 491 accessions ranged from 0.307 to 0.402, 0.467 to 0.587, and 0.246 to 0.316, with mean values of 0.365, 0.542, and 0.291, respectively. A CC containing 122 accessions was established and was categorized into eight clusters based on the K2P genetic distances. From the CC, 36 superior parents (including duplicates) were selected, which contained the elite alleles of markers and ranked in the top 10% of phenotypic values for each fiber quality trait. Among the 36 materials, eight were for fiber length, four were for fiber strength, nine were for fiber micronaire, five were for fiber uniformity, and ten were for fiber elongation. In particular, the nine materials, 348 (Xinluzhong34), 319 (Xinluzhong3), 325 (Xinluzhong9), 397 (L1-14), 205 (XianIII9704), 258 (9D208), 464 (DP201), 467 (DP150), and 465 (DP208), possessed the elite alleles of markers for at least two traits and could be given priority in breeding applications for a more synchronous improvement of fiber quality. The work provides an efficient method for superior parent selection and will facilitate the application of molecular design breeding to cotton fiber quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A patient with defective dentition in the upper jaw was placed with implant in left upper jaw. Telescopic overdenture was fabricated and supported by the implant and canine tooth in right upper jaw. The patient felt very comfortable, and this type of restoration could provide sufficient stability and maintain tooth and peri-implant tissues healthy. The preliminary clincal results of this restoration show that isolated canine tooth and single implant supported telescopic overdenture are feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key enabling technology of underwater acoustic sensor networks, underwater routing feature a variety of unique characteristics, including limited energy supply, high end-to-end delay and low delivery ratio. All these problems pose challenges in the design of efficient and effective routing protocols. To address such challenges, we propose an adaptive multi-zone geographic routing protocol(AMGR). First, AMGR dynamically adjusts the neighbor information acquisition interval according to the topology change speed, which not only reduces the excessive energy consumption of updating information, but also improves the performance of routing in high dynamic underwater environment. Second, according to the characteristics of different forwarding zones, the multi-region cooperative forwarding mechanism is adaptive used to improve the end-to-end delay and increase delivery ratio under the premise of reducing energy consumption as much as possible. Third, in priority calculation, we consider both the impact of packet transmission advancement and energy consumption, which can ensure less hops and avoid some high advancement nodes running out of energy in advance. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol outperforms AHH-VBF, PCR and restrictive flooding in delivery ratio, end-to-end delay and energy tax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel–cobalt–manganese ternary cathode materials for lithium‐ion batteries are prone to detrimental side reactions and deterioration performance at deep charge. Coating is one of the effective methods to boost electrochemical performance of materials. This work conducts an ultrathin LiV2O4 layer on the single‐crystal LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) particles and scrutinizes the optimal coating amount. It turns out that 0.3 wt% LiV2O4‐modified NCM523 cathode achieves a reversible discharging capacity of 131.2 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles (3.0–4.5 V vs Li/Li+), with a capacity retention of 80% (which is 50% higher than that of the pristine sample). The experimental data suggest that this lithium vanadate coating technique provides an innovative strategy to boost the performance of NCM cathodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a method for calculating the electromagnetic force acting on an aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel moving in a magnetic field. This research is motivated by the non-contact electromagnetic detumbling technology for space non-cooperative targets. Past modeling of the electromagnetic forces and torques generally assumes that the target is homogeneous. However, aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels are extensively used in spacecraft structures to reduce weight without sacrificing structural strength and stiffness, which are so inhomogeneous and complicated that it is difficult to obtain the induced electromagnetic force even by numerical methods. An equivalent conductivity tensor of an aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel is proposed, which allows the aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel to be treated as a homogeneous structure when calculating the induced electromagnetic forces. The advantage of the equivalent conductivity tensor in the calculation of induced electromagnetic forces is verified by finite element simulations. The proposed method makes it possible to evaluate the electromagnetic force of a large aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure moving in a magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and fabrication of advanced electrode materials for supercapacitor have been extensively explored recently. The spinel transition metal oxides have drawn considerable attentions because of their high theoretical capacity to store electrical charge. This work introduced a general hydrothermal assisted co-precipitation approach to fabricate five kinds of spinel MCo 2 O 4 (M = Co, Mn, Fe, Mg and Zn) submicron prisms on nickel foams. Among these spinel MCo 2 O 4 electrodes, the MgCo 2 O 4 exhibited the highest specific capacity of 613.5 C g −1 (0.883 C cm −2 ) at a current density of 2 mA cm −2 . All the specific capacities of bimetallic oxides were higher than single metal oxide Co 3 O 4 , indicating the enhanced electrochemical performance of bimetallic oxides. The correlations between peak currents and the square root of the scan rates of all prepared electrode materials showed OH − diffusion-controlled characteristic in their redox reactions. Furthermore, an assembled MgCo 2 O 4 //AC hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) achieved a specific capacity and a specific energy of 182.8 C g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 and 39.7 W h kg −1 , respectively. More impressively, this MgCo 2 O 4 //AC HSC showed a subsequent increase about 21.1% in specific capacity after 5000 cycles, suggesting its promising characteristics for the next generation energy storage device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is highly sensitive to cold stress, which leads to large reductions in rice yield at the booting stage. In this study, Kongyu131 and Kenjiandao6 rice cultivars with different levels of cold stress sensitivity were sprayed with diethylaminoethyl hexanoate (DA-6) concentrations of 500, 200, 20, 2, 0.2, and 0 mg/L one day before undergoing cold water stress (CWS). We analyzed changes in yield and its factors, dry matter production, stem characteristics, and physiological and biochemical characteristics of the rice plants. The results showed that DA-6 increased peroxidase activity, delayed nitrogen and chlorophyll degradation, maintained soluble protein and potassium contents, and suppressed the accumulation of malondialdehyde in the leaves of both cultivars under CWS. DA-6 also increased the phosphorous content and superoxide dismutase activity in Kenjiandao6 under CWS; however, in Kongyu131, DA-6 increased the soluble sugar content. In addition, DA-6 treatment increased the weight of the panicle at maturity, and of the leaf, panicle, and stem-sheath at heading in both cultivars. The lengths of the panicle, the top first internode, the export rate of stem-sheath, translocation rate of stem-sheath, and export of stem-sheath from heading to maturity were increased in Kenjiandao6; however, in Kongyu131, DA-6 increased the dry weight ratio of panicle to total plant and reduced the dry weight ratio of stem-sheath to total plant at maturity. Furthermore, DA-6 improved yield in both cultivars, mainly by increasing the grain weight in the inferior grains (IG) and middle grains (MG) under CWS. DA-6 increased the grain weight in the IG and MG in Kenjiandao6 mainly by enhancing the seed setting rate and number of filled grains (NFG) in the IG and MG, and in Kongyu131 by improving the NFG in MG and IG. The optimal concentration of DA-6 to alleviate CWS was 2 mg/L. In conclusion, exogenous DA-6 was effective for maintaining dry matter production and physiology in two early japonica rice cultivars under CWS at booting, thereby improving cold tolerance and enhancing yield. The less cold-tolerant cultivar Kenjiandao6 was more sensitive to the effects of DA-6 and displayed better results than the more cold-tolerant cultivar Kongyu131. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Frogeye leaf spot (FLS) is a destructive fungal disease that affects soybean production. The most economical and effective strategy to control FLS is the use of resistant cultivars. However, the use of a limited number of resistant loci in FLS management will be countered by the emergence of new high-virulence Cercospora sojina races. Therefore, we identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control resistance to FLS and identified novel resistant genes using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 234 Chinese soybean cultivars. Results: A total of 30,890 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were used to estimate linkage disequilibrium (LD) and population structure. The GWAS results showed four loci (p < 0.0001) distributed over chromosomes (Chr.) 5 and 20, that are significantly associated with FLS resistance. No previous studies have reported resistance loci in these regions. Subsequently, 45 genes in the two resistance-related haplotype blocks were annotated. Among them, Glyma20g31630 encoding pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), Glyma05g28980, which encodes mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MPK7), and Glyma20g31510, Glyma20g31520 encoding calcium-dependent protein kinase 4 (CDPK4) in the haplotype blocks deserves special attention. Conclusions: This study showed that GWAS can be employed as an effective strategy for identifying disease resistance traits in soybean and narrowing SNPs and candidate genes. The prediction of candidate genes in the haplotype blocks identified by disease resistance loci can provide a useful reference to study systemic disease resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nitrogen-doped interpenetrating porous carbon/graphene (NIPCG) networks were prepared. • The NIPCG shows both high N content of 13.1 at.% and density of 1.13 g cm−3. • The NIPCG exhibits ultrahigh specific gravimetric capacitances of 673F g−1. • The prepared NIPCG displays outstanding specific volumetric capacitances of 760F cm−3. We demonstrated a novel strategy to prepare nitrogen-doped interpenetrating porous carbon/graphene (NIPCG) networks based on interpenetrating poly(o-phenylenediamine)/N-doped graphene networks. The as-prepared NIPCG shows both high nitrogen content of 13.1 at.% and density of 1.13 g cm−3, and displays ultrahigh specific gravimetric and volumetric capacitances of 673 F g−1 and 760 F cm−3, respectively. Furthermore, the interpenetrating networks structure can afford rapid electron transport, and thus exhibiting excellent conductivity and good cycling stability. In addition, NIPCG assembled symmetric supercapacitor shows ultrahigh energy density of 27.6 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 600 W kg−1. Based on the above advantages, the present work holds a good potential to develop high performance energy storage and conversion devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new noncontact method for de-tumbling large space debris using a two-satellite electromagnetic formation is proposed and verified. • This method has advantages in reducing the fuel consumption of the satellite and preventing plumes accelerating the rotation of the target. • The electromagnetic interaction between the target and service satellites is analyzed. • A relative translational dynamics of the target–satellite system and an attitude dynamics of the target are presented. Capturing large space debris with complex rotational motion is extremely challenging. A de-tumbling phase before capturing may be necessary to reduce the risk of collision with debris. This paper proposes a new noncontact de-tumbling method using a two-satellite electromagnetic formation, in which two small electromagnetic satellites, each having a high-temperature superconducting coil, generate control torques to reduce the rotation rate of debris prior to making any physical contact. The electromagnetic interaction of the target-satellite system is analyzed. A relative translational dynamics of the target–satellite system and the attitude dynamics of the target are established. Simulation results show that the proposed method effectively eliminates the rotational motion of the target. It can be safely concluded that the noncontact method for de-tumbling space debris using a two-satellite electromagnetic formation is feasible and potentially applicable to on-orbit capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cercospora sojina is a fungal pathogen that causes frogeye leaf spot in soybean-producing regions, leading to severe yield losses worldwide. It exhibits variations in virulence due to race differentiation between strains. However, the candidate virulence-related genes are unknown because the infection process is slow, making it difficult to collect transcriptome samples. Results: In this study, virulence-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from the highly virulent Race 15 strain and mildly virulent Race1 strain under nitrogen starvation stress, which mimics the physiology of the pathogen during infection. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was then used to find co-expressed gene modules and assess the relationship between gene networks and phenotypes. Upon comparison of the transcriptomic differences in virulence between the strains, a total of 378 and 124 DEGs were upregulated, while 294 and 220 were downregulated in Race 1 and Race 15, respectively. Annotation of these DEGs revealed that many were associated with virulence differences, including scytalone dehydratase, 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene reductase, and β-1,3-glucanase. In addition, two modules highly correlated with the highly virulent strain Race 15 and 36 virulence-related DEGs were found to contain mostly β-1,4-glucanase, β-1,4-xylanas, and cellobiose dehydrogenase. Conclusions: These important nitrogen starvation-responsive DEGs are frequently involved in the synthesis of melanin, polyphosphate storage in the vacuole, lignocellulose degradation, and cellulose degradation during fungal development and differentiation. Transcriptome analysis indicated unique gene expression patterns, providing further insight into pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• rTMS as an adjunct intervention augments the brain functional response associated with motor training. • rTMS-BAT promoted interhemispheric balance of the brain functional network in chronic stroke. • Pattern of functional response to specific paradigms depended on the degree of motor impairment. • fNIRS can be used to monitor brain response associated with motor rehabilitation after stroke. Neurological evidence for the combinational intervention coupling rTMS with motor training for stroke rehabilitation remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of rTMS combined with bilateral arm training (BAT) on the brain functional reorganization in patients with chronic stroke via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Fifteen stroke patients and fifteen age-matched healthy participants were enrolled and underwent single BAT session (s-BAT) and BAT immediately after 5-Hz rTMS over the ipsilesional M1 (rTMS-BAT), measured cerebral haemodynamics by fNIRS. Functional connectivity (FC), the clustering coefficient (C coef), and local efficiency (E loc) were applied to evaluate the functional response to the training paradigms. The differences in FC responses to the two training paradigms were more pronounced in stroke patients than in healthy controls. In the resting state, stroke patients exhibited significantly lower FC than controls in both hemispheres. rTMS-BAT induced no significant difference in FC between groups. Compared to the resting state, rTMS-BAT induced significant decreases in C coef and E loc of the contralesional M1 and significant increases in E loc of the ipsilesional M1 in stroke patients. Additionally, these above two network metrics of the ipsilesional motor area were significantly positively correlated with the motor function of stroke patients. These results suggest that the rTMS-BAT paradigm had additional effects on task-dependent brain functional reorganization. The engagement of the ipsilesional motor area in the functional network was associated with the motor impairment severity of stroke patients. fNIRS-based assessments may provide information about the neural mechanisms underlying combination interventions for stroke rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), caused by the hantavirus, is a natural infectious disease characterized by fever, hemorrhage and renal damage. China is the most severely endemic area for HFRS in the world. In recent years, critical scoring systems based on quantitative classification have become an important clinical tool for predicting and evaluating the prognosis of critical illness, and provide guidelines for clinical practice. Methods The sample comprised 384 patients with HFRS treated in the Taizhou Hospital from January 2006 to February 2017. The patients were divided into the severe group and the mild group according to their clinical characteristics. By comparing the differences in clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory data between the two groups, the clinically relevant indicators of severe HFRS were explored. According to the previous studies, we incorporated the positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT) into the sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) tool and formulated a new scoring system specifically for HFRS, named H-SOFA. By comparing the simplified acute physiology score II (SAPS II), SOFA and H-SOFA scores of the two groups, their predictive values for the progression of HFRS were assessed. Results Compared to the mild group, patients in the severe group had longer hospital stays; higher frequencies of nausea, vomiting, abdomen pain, signs of congestion and hemorrhage; and more pronounced impairment of liver and renal function. The levels of PLT, PCT, TB, and FOBT were positively correlated with the progression of HFRS (P < 0.001). Patients with HFRS in the severe group got significantly higher scores on the SAPS II, SOFA, and H-SOFA scoring systems (P < 0.001). The values of SAPS II, SOFA and H-SOFA, were significantly correlated with the severity of HFRS, and the AUC values were 0.90, 0.96, and 0.98, respectively. Conclusion PLT, PCT, TB, and FOBT were independent predictors of severe HFRS; SAPS II, SOFA, and H-SOFA had high predictive value for the progression of severe HFRS, with H-SOFA being the highest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The first report of isolation of P2-like phages of Y. pestis from M. himalayana. • The LPS core structure of Y. pestis is the phages' receptor. • One of the P2-like phages is a temperature sensitive phage, which could only infect Y. pestis at the temperature of mammalian host (37 °C) but not at the temperature of the flea vector (26 °C). Yersinia pestis is the cause of plague, historically known as the "Black Death". Marmota himalayana in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) natural plague focus is the primary host in China. Although several phages originating from Y. pestis have been characterized. This is the first report of isolation of P2-like phages of Y. pestis from M. himalayana. In this study, the isolation and characterization of three P2-like phages of Y. pestis were reported, which were named as vB_YpM_22, vB_YpM_46 and vB_YpM_50. Comparative genome analysis revealed that vB_YpM_22, vB_YpM_46 and vB_YpM_50 are members of the nonlambdoid P2 family, and are highly similar and collinear with enterobacteriophage P2, plague diagnostic phage L-413C and enterobacteriophage fiAA91-ss. The role of LPS core structure of Y. pestis in the phages' receptor was pinpointed. The findings of this study contribute an advance in our current knowledge of Y. pestis phages and will also play a key role in understanding the evolution of Y. pestis phages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a mild and highly efficient process for utilization of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) as a green oxidant has very important academic and applied values in the synthesis of oxygenated products. This paper first discloses that a series of vanadium-substituted molybdophosphoric acids (PMo 12− n V n , n = 1–3), assisted by HCl aqueous solution, can efficiently catalyze the visible light-driven liquid phase oxygenation of cyclohexane by N 2 O in acetonitrile (MeCN), providing ca. 26.2% cyclohexane conversion and 90.2% selectivity for cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone (KA oil) under optimized conditions, along with a small quantity of chlorination. Among the catalysts examined, PMo 10 V 2 and especially PMo 9 V 3 showed a higher activity for this photocatalytic oxygenation than PMo 11 V. Furthermore, the amount of water added strongly influenced this HCl-promoted photocatalysis oxygenation. The selectivity of cyclohexanone was continuously and significantly improved from 21.8 to 82.7% with increasing water amount from 0 to 0.15 mL, but the conversion of cyclohexane obviously decreased when the amount of water added was higher than 0.12 mL. The promoting effect of HCl on the present photocatalysis reaction is probably due to the fact that the donor–acceptor (D–A) adduct between HCl and PMo 12− n V n can be excited by visible light to achieve its intra-molecular electron transfer from Cl − to PMo 12− n V n anions, which leads to the generation of Cl radicals and the reduction of catalysts. The subsequent reactions initiated by the Cl radicals result in the oxygenation of cyclohexane by N 2 O to KA oil and the regeneration of catalysts, as supported by UV–vis spectral and cyclic voltammetric measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Amorphous phosphate layers are formed directly at surface of LiNi 0.80 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA) particles from a H 3 PO 4 -ethanol solution. • The phosphate coated NCA materials exhibit prominent electrochemical performance and stability as a cathode for lithium-ion batteries. • The phosphate coated NCA cathode shows a capacity retention of 68.8 % after 300 cycles in 3.0–4.5 V and 5C-rate. We report a surface modification of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA) materials with a phosphate layer via a room-temperature corrosion approach from H 3 PO 4 -ethanol solution. The phosphate layer is of amorphous nature with a thickness of 2∼3 nm, and consequently, NCA maintains its bulk structure during cycling and possesses significantly enhanced rate property of 153.7 mA h g−1 at 5C. Simultaneously, such a modified system demonstrates an excellent cycling stability (107.5 mA h g−1) and coulombic efficiency (>90 %) after 300 cycles at 5C. The findings highlight that the acid corrosion treatment represents a facile and efficient way in developing advanced NCA cathodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Henan, strawberry cultivation occurs on approximately 10,000 hectares, with annual production approaching 230,000 tons. In April 2022, a root rot disease with a 10% incidence rate was observed on the strawberry cultivars 'Ningyu' and 'Sweet Charlie' grown in plastic greenhouses (0.7 ha) located in Xingyang (113.39°E, 34.79°N), Henan, China. Disease symptoms included yellowing of the outer mature leaves, stunted growth, and subsequent wilting of the entire plant. The roots developed dark brown spots, which gradually turned necrotic (Figures 1a, 1b). To determine the causal agent, four symptomatic plants (two plants per cultivar) were collected. Twelve symptomatic root tissues (three root tissue samples per plant) were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol and 0.1% mercuric chloride, washed thrice in sterile water, air dried, and then placed on PDA at 25°C for 3 days. Eight pure isolates were obtained by hyphal-tip isolation (Fang 2007). Each colony had a dark olivaceous green to brown, cottony appearance with a round margin, and the reverse side was grey-black near the center (Figure 1c). Conidia were ellipsoidal, aseptate, with rounded ends, and 3.1 to 4.8 μm × 1.0 to 2.5 μm in size (Figure 1d). Chlamydospores were ellipsoidal, pale brown, and 7.9 to 11.9 μm × 7.6 to 10.7 μm in size (Figure 1e). A representative fungus isolate, designated as Z5, was selected for further molecular identification. Genomic DNA was extracted from the mycelia of isolate Z5, and four gene partial regions (ITS, TUB2 , RPB2 , and LSU) were amplified using the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4, Bt-2a/Bt-2b, RPB2-5F/RPB2-7CR and LROR/LR5, respectively (White et al.1990, O'Donnell et al.1997, Reeb et al. 2004, Rehner and Samuels 1994). PCR products were sequenced and submitted to GenBank with the following accession numbers OQ130480 (ITS), OQ190093 (TUB2), OQ190092 (RPB2), and OQ255570 (LSU). BLASTn search revealed that the ITS, TUB2 , RPB2 , and LSU gene sequences of isolate Z5 showed 99.42% (513/516 bp), 99.69% (320/321 bp), 100% (1071/1071 bp), and 100% (857/857 bp) identity with those of ex-type S. pogostemonis stain ZHKUCC 21-0001 (Dong et al. 2021), respectively. A phylogenetic tree was constructed showing that Z5 clustered with S. pogostemonis (Figure 2). The isolates in this study were identified as S. pogostemonis based on morphological and molecular evidence. To confirm pathogenicity, five one-month-old 'Ningyu' cultivar strawberry seedlings were planted in sterilized nursery soil mixed with wheat grains (0.5% w/w) coated with Z5 mycelia (Fang 2007). An equal number of strawberry seedlings were placed in pots filled with non-infected potting mix to serve as controls. The seedlings were kept in a greenhouse under a 12 h light/dark photoperiod at 25°C. After two weeks, the inoculated seedlings displayed symptoms such as leaf wilting and root necrosis, similar to those observed in the greenhouses, while the control seedlings showed no symptoms (Figures 1f, 1g). The experiment was performed thrice. The identical fungus was re-isolated from the symptomatic roots and identified as S. pogostemonis based on morphological characteristics and molecular analysis, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. This is the first report of S. pogostemonis causing root rot on strawberries worldwide. Our findings will contribute to a more comprehensive study on investigating and managing this disease.

Objective: To determine whether superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) correlated with the intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) severity and the postoperative spinal fusion rate in lumbar spinal stenosis patients accompanied with lumbar disc herniation., Methods: This retrospective study investigated 310 cases of posterior lumbar decompression and fusion. The cumulative grade was calculated by adding the pfirrmann grades of all the lumbar discs. Subjects were grouped based on the median cumulative grade. Logistic regression was used to determine the associations among the demographical, clinical, and laboratory indexes and severe degeneration and fusion. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to measure model discrimination, and Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) test was used to measure calibration., Results: SOD and GR levels were significantly lower in the severe degeneration group (cumulative grade > 18) than in the mild to moderate degeneration group (cumulative grade ≤ 18). Furthermore, the SOD and GR concentrations of the fusion group were significantly higher than that of the non-fusion group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006). The multivariate binary logistic models revealed that SOD and GR were independently influencing factors of the severe degeneration (OR: 0.966, 95%CI: 0.950-0.982, and OR: 0.946, 95%CI: 0.915-0.978, respectively) and non-fusion (OR: 0.962; 95% CI: 0.947-0.978; OR: 0.963; 95% CI: 0.933-0.994). The models showed excellent discrimination and calibration. Trend analysis indicated that the levels of SOD and GR tended to decrease with increasing severity (p for trend < 0.001 and 0.003). In addition, it also revealed that SOD provided protection from non-fusion in a concentration-dependent manner (p for trend < 0.001). However, GR concentration-dependent effects were not apparent (p for trend = 0.301)., Conclusion: High serum SOD and GR levels are associated with a better fusion prognosis and a relief in degeneration severity., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: There has been an association between changes in body composition, fracture incidence, and age in previous studies. Telomere length (TL) has been proposed as a biomarker of aging. However, the relationship between body composition, fractures, and TL has rarely been studied. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between TL and body composition and fractures.Patients and methods: 20950 participants from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included in the final analysis. In NHANES, body compositions were measured with DXA, and TL was determined with quantitative PCR. Correlation analysis of TL and body composition was conducted using multivariate weighted linear regression and logistic regression models., Results: The results showed that TL positively correlated with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in most body parts. However, BMD and BMC were negatively connected with TL in the upper limbs and skull. Fat content was negatively associated with TL, while muscle content was positively linked to TL. In addition, TL's trend analysis results were consistent with the regression model when transformed from a continuous to a classified variable. An increase in TL was associated with a higher incidence of wrist fractures, while a decrease in spine fractures. The above correlation also has a certain degree of sex specificity., Conclusion: Our study indicate that TL is associated with body composition as well as fractures, but further research is needed to confirm these contrasting associations in the skull, upper limbs, and wrists., 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 Guo, Zhao, Wang, Xu, Liu, Hu and Wu.)

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is a highly aggressive gynecological malignancy prevalent worldwide. Most OC cases are typically diagnosed at advanced stages, which has led to a 5-year overall survival rate of less than 35% following conventional treatment. Furthermore, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has shown limited efficacy in the treatment of patients with OC, and CAR-T therapy has also demonstrated modest results owing to inadequate T cell infiltration. Therefore, novel strategies must be developed to enhance T cell persistence and trafficking within the OC tumor microenvironment., Methods: In this study, we developed a novel adoptive T-cell therapy for ovarian cancer based on a chimeric antigen receptor structure. We used a ligand-receptor binding motif to enhance the therapeutic effect of targeting CA125. Since mesothelin can naturally bind to CA125 with high affinity, we concatenated the core-binding fragment of mesothelin with the 4-1BB and CD3ζ signal fragments to assemble a novel CA125-targeting chimeric receptor (CR). The CAR structure targeting CA125 derived from the 4H11 antibody was also constructed. CR- and CAR-encoding RNA were electroporated into T cells to evaluate their antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo., Results: While CR-T or CAR-T cells exhibited moderate activity against two ovarian cancer cell lines, T cells co-expressing CR and CAR exhibited a superior killing effect compared to T cells expressing either CR or CAR alone. Furthermore, upon interaction with ovarian tumors, the ability of CR and CAR T cells to release activation markers and functional cytokines increased significantly. Similarly, CR and CAR co-expressing T cells persistently controlled the growth of transplanted ovarian cancer tumors in NSG mice and significantly prolonged the overall survival of tumor-challenged mice. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that the survival and cytotoxicity of T cells co-expressing CR and CAR were significantly altered compared with those of T cells expressing either CR or CAR., Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that CA125 targeting CR and CAR can synergistically kill ovarian cancer cells, indicating that CA125 targeting by the two binding motifs simultaneously in tumors may improve the therapeutic outcomes of ovarian cancer treatment., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague. Marmota himalayana of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is the primary host of flea-borne Y. pestis. This study is the report of isolation of Mu-like bacteriophages of Y. pestis from M. himalayana . The isolation and characterization of four Mu-like phages of Y. pestis were reported, which were named as vB&#95;YpM&#95;3, vB&#95;YpM&#95;5, vB&#95;YpM&#95;6, and vB&#95;YpM&#95;23 according to their morphology. Comparative genome analysis revealed that vB&#95;YpM&#95;3, vB&#95;YpM&#95;5, vB&#95;YpM&#95;6, and vB&#95;YpM&#95;23 are phylogenetically closest to Escherichia coli phages Mu, D108 and Shigella flexneri phage SfMu. The role of LPS core structure of Y. pestis in the phages' receptor was pinpointed. All the phages exhibit "temperature dependent infection," which is independent of the growth temperature of the host bacteria and dependent of the temperature of phage infection. The phages lyse the host bacteria at 37°C, but enter the lysogenic cycle and become prophages in the chromosome of the host bacteria at 26°C. IMPORTANCE Mu-like bacteriophages of Y. pestis were isolated from M. himalayana of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in China. These bacteriophages have a unique temperature dependent life cycle, follow a lytic cycle at the temperature of warm-blooded mammals (37°С), and enter the lysogenic cycle at the temperature of its flea-vector (26°С). A switch from the lysogenic to the lytic cycle occurred when lysogenic bacteria were incubated from lower temperature to higher temperature (initially incubating at 26°C and shifting to 37°C). It is speculated that the temperature dependent lifestyle of bacteriophages may affect the population dynamics and pathogenicity of Y. pestis., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Plague caused by Yersinia pestis remains a public health threat worldwide. Because multidrug-resistant Y. pestis strains have been found in both humans and animals, phage therapy has attracted increasing attention as an alternative strategy against plague. However, phage resistance is a potential drawback of phage therapies, and the mechanism of phage resistance in Y. pestis is yet to be investigated. In this study, we obtained a bacteriophage-resistant strain of Y. pestis (S56) by continuously challenging Y. pestis 614F with the bacteriophage Yep-phi. Genome analysis identified three mutations in strain S56: waaA * (9-bp in-frame deletion 249 GTCATCGTG 257 ), cmk* (10-bp frameshift deletion 15 CCGGTGATAA 24 ), and ail* (1-bp frameshift deletion A 538 ). WaaA (3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid transferase) is a key enzyme in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. The waaA* mutation leads to decreased phage adsorption because of the failure to synthesize the lipopolysaccharide core. The mutation in cmk (encoding cytidine monophosphate kinase) increased phage resistance, independent of phage adsorption, and caused in vitro growth defects in Y. pestis. The mutation in ail inhibited phage adsorption while restoring the growth of the waaA null mutant and accelerating the growth of the cmk null mutant. Our results confirmed that mutations in the WaaA-Cmk-Ail cascade in Y. pestis contribute to resistance against bacteriophage. Our findings help in understanding the interactions between Y. pestis and its phages., 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 Xiao, Qi, Song, Lv, Chen, Zhao, Wu, Li, Xin, Jin, Li, Xu, Tan, Du, Cui, Zhang, Yang, Zhao and Song.)

Background: Based on the constitution theroy, infants are classified into balanced constitution (BC) and unbalanced constitution. Yin-deficiency constitution (YINDC) is a common type of unbalanced constitutions in Chinese infants. An infant's gut microbiota directly affects the child's health and has long-term effects on the maturation of the immune and endocrine systems throughout life. However, the gut microbiota of infants with YINDC remains unknown. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the intestinal flora profiles and urinary metabolites in infant with YINDC, find biomarkers to identify YINDC, and promote our understanding of infant constitution classification., Methods: Constitutional Medicine Questionnaires were used to assess the infants' constitution types. 47 infants with 21 cases of YINDC and 26 cases of BC were included, and a cross-sectional sampling of stool and urine was conducted. Fecal microbiota was characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing, and urinary metabolomics was profiled using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS method. YINDC markers with high accuracy were identified using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis., Results: The diversity and composition of intestinal flora and urinary metabolites differed significantly between the YINDC and BC groups. A total of 13 obviously different genera and 55 altered metabolites were identified. Stool microbiome shifts were associated with urine metabolite changes. A combined marker comprising two genera may have a high potential to identify YINDC with an AUC of 0.845., Conclusions: Infants with YINDC had a unique gut microbiota and metabolomic profile resulting in a constitutional microclassification. The altered gut microbiome in YINDC may account for the higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Metabolomic analysis of urine showed that metabolic pathways, including histidine metabolism, proximal tubule bicarbonate reclamation, arginine biosynthesis, and steroid hormone biosynthesis, were altered in infants with YINDC. Additionally, the combined bacterial biomarker had the ability to identify YINDC. Identifying YINDC in infancy and intervening at an early stage is crucial for preventing cardiovascular diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: As an increasingly popular complementary and alternative approach for early detection and treatment of disease, traditional Chinese medicine constitution (TCMC) divides human beings into those with balanced constitution (BC) and unbalanced constitution, where damp-heat constitution (DHC) is one of the most unbalanced constitutions. Many studies have been carried out on the microscopic mechanism of constitution classification; however, most of these studies were conducted in adults and rarely in infants. Many diseases are closely related to intestinal microbiota, and metabolites produced by the interaction between microbiota and the body may impact constitution classification. Herein, we investigated the overall constitution distribution in Chinese infants, and analyzed the profiles of gut microbiota and urine metabolites of DHC to further promote the understanding of infants constitution classification., Methods: General information was collected and TCMC was evaluated by Constitutional Medicine Questionnaires. 1315 questionnaires were received in a cross-sectional study to investigate the constitution composition in Chinese infants. A total of 56 infants, including 30 DHC and 26 BC, were randomly selected to analyze gut microbiota by 16S rRNA sequencing and urine metabolites by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS method., Results: BC was the most common constitution in Chinese infants, DHC was the second common constitution. The gut microbiota and urine metabolites in the DHC group showed different composition compared to the BC group. Four differential genera and twenty differential metabolites were identified. In addition, the combined marker composed of four metabolites may have the high potential to discriminate DHC from BC with an AUC of 0.765., Conclusions: The study revealed the systematic differences in the gut microbiota and urine metabolites between infants with DHC and BC. Moreover, the differential microbiota and metabolites may offer objective evidences for constitution classification., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Objective: This study was designed to determine whether lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) correlated with the intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) severity and the postoperative spinal fusion rate in patients with lumbar disc disease., Methods: 303 patients undergoing posterior lumbar decompression and fusion were retrospectively analyzed. An examination of the blood count was performed before surgery. The cumulative grade was calculated by summing the pfirrmann grades of all lumbar discs. Grouping was based on the 50th percentile of cumulative grade and spinal fusion. The relationship between LMR and IDD severity and spinal fusion was explored using correlation analyses and logistic regression models. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to measure model discrimination, and Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) test was used to measure calibration. Meanwhile, the ROC curve evaluated the discrimination ability of LMR in predicting severe degeneration and fusion failure., Results: LMR was significantly lower in the severe degeneration group (cumulative grade > 18) than in the mild to moderate degeneration group (cumulative grade ≤ 18). Furthermore, the LMR of the fusion group was significantly higher than that of the non-fusion group. The multivariate binary logistic models revealed that LMR was an independently influencing factor of the severe degeneration and fusion failure (OR: 0.793, 95% CI: 0.638-0.987, p = 0.038; OR: 0.371, 95% CI: 0.258-0.532, p < 0.001). The models showed excellent discrimination and calibration. The area under the curve (AUC) of severe degeneration and fusion failure identified by LMR were 0.635 and 0.643, respectively, and the corresponding cut-off values were 3.16 and 3.90., Conclusion: LMR is significantly associated with the risk of severe disc degeneration and spinal fusion failure., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2022 Guo et al.)