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Abstract Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) are showing versatile possibilities in cutting-edge applications, including non-volatile memory, neuromorphic computing, and nano-photonics. However, for embedded phase-change memory applications, conventional PCMs suffer from insufficient thermal stability because of their relatively low crystallization temperatures (T x). Although doping with additional alloying elements could improve the amorphous stability, it also increases the tendency towards compositional partitioning and phase separation. Recently, a two-dimensional (2D) layered compound CrGeTe3 (CrGT) was developed as a PCM, showing a high T x ~ 276 °C with an inverse change in resistive-switching character upon phase transition. Here, we report a high-throughput materials screening for 2D layered phase-change chalcogenides. We aim to clarify whether the high T x and the inverse electrical resistance contrast are intrinsic features of 2D PCMs. In total, twenty-five 2D chalcogenides with CrGT trilayer structures have been identified from a large database. We then focused on selected layered tellurides by performing thorough ab initio simulations and experimental investigations and confirming that their amorphous phase indeed has a much higher T x than conventional PCMs. We attribute this enhanced amorphous stability to the structurally complex nuclei required to render crystallization possible. Overall, we regard InGeTe3 as a balanced 2D PCM with both high thermal stability and large electrical contrast for embedded memory applications.

IntroductionHumus can be formed during composting through biological pathways, nonetheless, the mechanisms through which bacterial and fungal communities govern the development of humus in compost with the addition of biochar remain uncertain.MethodsIn this study, compost with cow dung and maize stover as feedstock was employed as a control group, and compost with 10% biochar added on top of the feedstock was adopted as a treatment group to investigate the effect of bacterial and fungal communities on humus formation during biochar composting.Results and DiscussionThe results demonstrated that the humic acid content increased by 24.82 and 25.10% at the cooling and maturation stages, respectively, after adding biochar. Besides, the degree of polymerization content in the maturation stage was elevated by 90.98%, which accelerated the humification process of the compost. During the thermophilic and maturity stages, there was a respective increase of 51.34 and 31.40% in reducing sugar content, suggesting that the inclusion of biochar could furnish ample reducing sugar substrate for the Maillard reaction. The addition of biochar reduced the number of humus precursor-associated genera by 35, increased the number of genera involved in humus synthesis by two, and enhanced the stability of the cross-domain network between bacteria and fungi, which confirms that microorganisms contribute to the humification process by decreasing humus precursor consumption as well as increasing humus synthesis with the addition of biochar. Additionally, adding biochar could enhance the humification capacity of the compost pile by dominating the Maillard reaction with reducing sugars as the substrate and strengthening the function of humus synthesis-associated genera. This study enhances our comprehension of the regulatory pathways of biochar in the humification process during composting.

Abstract Background Lipid metabolism changes occur in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Yet little is known about metabolic gene changes in early AD cortex. Methods The lipid metabolic genes selected from two datasets (GSE39420 and GSE118553) were analyzed with enrichment analysis. Protein–protein interaction network construction and correlation analyses were used to screen core genes. Literature analysis and molecular docking were applied to explore potential therapeutic drugs. Results 60 lipid metabolic genes differentially expressed in early AD patients’ cortex were screened. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that up-regulated genes were mainly focused on mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and mediating the activation of long-chain fatty acids, phosphoproteins, and cholesterol metabolism. Down-regulated genes were mainly focused on lipid transport, carboxylic acid metabolic process, and neuron apoptotic process. Literature reviews and molecular docking results indicated that ACSL1, ACSBG2, ACAA2, FABP3, ALDH5A1, and FFAR4 were core targets for lipid metabolism disorder and had a high binding affinity with compounds including adenosine phosphate, oxidized Photinus luciferin, BMS-488043, and candidate therapeutic drugs especially bisphenol A, benzo(a)pyrene, ethinyl estradiol. Conclusions AD cortical lipid metabolism disorder was associated with the dysregulation of the PPAR signaling pathway, glycerophospholipid metabolism, adipocytokine signaling pathway, fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid degradation, ferroptosis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and fatty acid elongation. Candidate drugs including bisphenol A, benzo(a)pyrene, ethinyl estradiol, and active compounds including adenosine phosphate, oxidized Photinus luciferin, and BMS-488043 have potential therapeutic effects on cortical lipid metabolism disorder of early AD.

Abstract Background Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection among female is the cause of cervical cancer and genital warts. In China, the HPV vaccination rate and the target population screening rate among females are low, and the aims of this study on the genotype distribution and prevalence of HPV infection were to provide more targeted strategies for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and HPV-related diseases. Methods Polymerase chain reaction-reverse dot blot (PCR-RDB) was adopted for HPV genotyping test, the prevalence and 23 genotypes distribution of HPV infections among 181,705 women in Chengdu from 2013 to 2020 were analysed. Results The overall prevalence rate of HPV infection among 181,705 cases was 23.28%, the prevalence of HR-HPV at the age group 65 years). Additionally,for patients with genital warts, it is necessary to screen for high-risk HPV infection and provide appropriate management and treatment. Given the limitations of this study, future HPV research should aim to achieve full coverage of the target population, and our studies should also include cellular or pathological data of HPV-positive cases, vaccination rates, and various lifestyle details.

In the past decade, nanozymes - a unique class of nanomaterials with inherent enzyme-mimetic properties - have fascinated researchers, revealing unexpected enzyme-like activity of nanomaterials previously considered biologically inert. In particular, as metal-free catalyst for biological processes, carbon-based nanozymes have grown in popularity due to their exceptional physical and chemical characteristics. So far, a variety of carbon-based nanozymes with various structures such as fullerene, graphene oxide, carbon dot, carbon nanotube, and carbon nanosphere have been reported possessing a wide range of enzyme-like properties. However, the structure-activity relationship of the carbon-based nanozymes have not yet been comprehensively discussed. In this review, we thoroughly examine the recent findings on the structure-activity connection of carbon nanozymes, in an effort to comprehend the underlying mechanism of carbon nanozymes and throw light on the future direction of the systematic design and construction of functionally specific carbon nanozymes. We also will address the broad range of applications of carbon nanozymes from in vitro detection to replacing specific enzymes in living systems.

Background: The loss of an only child, known as Shidu in China, is a profoundly distressing experience, often leading to Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD). Despite its impact, the structural brain alterations associated with PGD, potentially influencing cognitive impairments in Shidu parents, remain understudied.Objective: This study aims to identify brain structural abnormalities related to prolonged grief and their relation with cognitive inhibition in Shidu parents.Methods: The study included 40 Shidu parents and 42 non-bereaved participants. Prolonged grief was evaluated using the Prolonged Grief Questionnaire (PG-13). We employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess brain structural alterations and their correlation with cognitive inhibition, as measured by Stroop interference scores.Results: Findings suggest that greater prolonged grief intensity correlates with reduced grey matter volume in the right amygdala and the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Additionally, enhanced amygdala-to-whole-brain structural connectivity showed a marginal association with prolonged grief, particularly with emotional-related symptoms. Furthermore, a decrease in SMG volume was found to mediate the relation between prolonged grief and Stroop Time Inference (TI) score, indicating an indirect effect of prolonged grief on cognitive inhibition.Conclusions: The study provides insight into the neural correlates of prolonged grief in Shidu parents, highlighting the SMG’s role in cognitive inhibition. These findings emphasise the need for comprehensive grief interventions to address the complex cognitive and emotional challenges faced by this unique bereaved population.

Abstract The aims of this study on human papilloma virus (HPV) 6/11/16/18 infection among females in Chengdu were to provide more targeted strategies for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and genital warts. In this study, the infection status of 20 genotypes was analysed by gene chip technology. The prevalence rates of HPV-6, -11, -16, and -18 infection among 180,276 cases were 0.94%, 0.57%, 3.22%, and 1.28%, respectively. The prevalence of HPV 6/11/16/18 showed a bimodal U-shaped curve with age; the first and second peak occurred among females

Abstract Exome sequencing (ES) has been used in a variety of clinical settings but there are limited data on its utility for diagnosis and/or prediction of monogenic liver diseases. We developed a curated list of 502 genes for monogenic disorders associated with liver phenotypes and analyzed ES data for these genes in 758 patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD). For comparison, we examined ES data in 7856 self-declared healthy controls (HC), and 2187 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Candidate pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) variants were initially identified in 19.9% of participants, most of which were attributable to previously reported pathogenic variants with implausibly high allele frequencies. After variant annotation and filtering based on population minor allele frequency (MAF ≤ 10–4 for dominant disorders and MAF ≤ 10–3 for recessive disorders), we detected a significant enrichment of P/LP variants in the CLD cohort compared to the HC cohort (X 2 test OR 5.00, 95% CI 3.06–8.18, p value = 4.5e−12). A second-level manual annotation was necessary to capture true pathogenic variants that were removed by stringent allele frequency and quality filters. After these sequential steps, the diagnostic rate of monogenic disorders was 5.7% in the CLD cohort, attributable to P/LP variants in 25 genes. We also identified concordant liver disease phenotypes for 15/22 kidney disease patients with P/LP variants in liver genes, mostly associated with cystic liver disease phenotypes. Sequencing results had many implications for clinical management, including familial testing for early diagnosis and management, preventative screening for associated comorbidities, and in some cases for therapy. Exome sequencing provided a 5.7% diagnostic rate in CLD patients and required multiple rounds of review to reduce both false positive and false negative findings. The identification of concordant phenotypes in many patients with P/LP variants and no known liver disease also indicates a potential for predictive testing for selected monogenic liver disorders.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant clonal proliferative disease of hematopoietic system. Despite tremendous progress in uncovering the AML genome, only a small number of mutations have been incorporated into risk stratification and used as therapeutic targets. In this research, we performed to construct a predictive prognosis risk model for AML patients according to gene mutations. Methods: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology was utilized to detect gene mutation from 118 patients. mRNA expression profiles and related clinical information were mined from TCGA and GEO databases. Consensus cluster analysis was applied to obtain molecular subtypes, and differences in clinicopathological features, prognosis, and immune microenvironment of different clusters were systematically compared. According to the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between clusters, univariate and LASSO regression analysis were applied to identify gene signatures to build a prognostic risk model. Patients were classified into high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) groups according to the median risk score (RS). Differences in prognosis, immune profile, and therapeutic sensitivity between two groups were analyzed. The independent predictive value of RS was assessed and a nomogram was developed. Results: NGS detected 24 mutated genes, with higher mutation frequencies in CBL (63 %) and SETBP1 (49 %). Two clusters exhibited different immune microenvironments and survival probability (p = 0.0056) were identified. A total of 444 DEGs were screened in two clusters, and a mutation-associated risk model was constructed, including MPO, HGF, SH2B3, SETBP1, HLA-DRB1, LGALS1, and KDM5B. Patients in LR had a superior survival time compared to HR. Predictive performance of this model was confirmed and the developed nomogram further improved the applicability of the risk model with the AUCs for predicting 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rate were 0.829, 0.81 and 0.811, respectively. HR cases were more sensitive to erlotinib, CI-1040, and AZD6244. Conclusion: These findings supplemented the understanding of gene mutations in AML, and constructed models had good application prospect to provide effective information for predicting prognosis and treatment response of AML.

Abstract Development of colorectal cancer (CRC) involves activation of Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) signaling. However, the post-transcriptional regulation of KRAS has yet to be fully characterized. Here, we found that the colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE)/heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (hnRNPA2B1) axis was notably elevated in CRC and was strongly associated with poor prognosis of patients, while also significantly promoting CRC cell proliferation and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, CRNDE maintained the stability of hnRNPA2B1 protein by inhibiting E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM21 mediated K63 ubiquitination-dependent protein degradation. CRNDE/hnRNPA2B1 axis facilitated the nuclear export and translation of KRAS mRNA, which specifically activated the MAPK signaling pathway, eventually accelerating the malignant progression of CRC. Our findings provided insight into the regulatory network for stable hnRNPA2B1 protein expression, and the molecular mechanisms by which the CRNDE/hnRNPA2B1 axis mediated KRAS nucleocytoplasmic transport and translation, deeply underscoring the bright future of hnRNPA2B1 as a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for CRC. By hindering hnRNPA2B1 from binding to the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM21, whose mediated ubiquitin-dependent degradation was thereby inhibited, CRNDE protected the stability of hnRNPA2B1’s high protein expression in CRC. Supported by the high level of the oncogenic molecule CRNDE, hnRNPA2B1 bound to KRAS mRNA and promoted KRAS mRNA nucleus export to enter the ribosomal translation program, subsequently activating the MAPK signaling pathway and ultimately accelerating the malignant progression of CRC.

Economic sustainability is one of the main factors restricting development of mercury pollution control technology in the flue gas. Renewable magnetospheres separated from fly ash can be used as adsorbent for mercury removal from coal-fired flue gas. Based on the actual working condition of the 1000 WM coal-fired unit, this paper analyzes the impact of magnetosphere and mercury recovery technology on the economic benefits of this technology. The results show that the recovery of magnetospheres and mercury can obtain higher economic returns. This not only can realize the deduction of operating costs, but also has certain economic investment potential. When the magnetic separation rate is greater than 6% and the selling price of the magnetosphere is greater than 720 CNY/t, the revenue of the magnetosphere recovery system can offset the operating cost of whole system. The internal rate of return of the system can reach 50% at most. When the selling price of mercury selenide is lower than 450 CNY/g, the single mercury recovery income is insufficient to offset the mercury removal cost. Within the selling price range of 450–500 CNY/g mercury selenide, the system can generate revenue, and the product qualification rate directly affects the profit and loss of the system. The coupling of magnetospheres and mercury recovery systems can make economic and technical parameters more moderate. When the selling price of magnetospheres is higher than 600 CNY/t, the magnetic separation rate is higher than 6%, and the selling price of mercury selenide is higher than 350 CNY/g, the internal return of the system will fluctuate within 13%∼120%, and the static investment recovery period will remain within 6 years. Overall, this study can provide economic guidance for mercury removal technology with renewable magnetospheres and provide data support for further commercialization of technology.

Enhancing the heat transfer performance of heat exchangers is crucial for solving energy shortage and environmental pollution problems. Eccentric structure tube, with the advantages of small volume ratio, large heat transfer area, compact structure, and cleanliness, was used in this work to strengthen the heat transfer performance. A three-dimensional numerical simulation method was used to investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of the working medium in an eccentric tube under the laminar flow condition. The results display that the Nusselt (Nu) number, friction factor, and comprehensive performance evaluation coefficient (PEC) of the eccentric tube decreased with the increase of lead (s). With increasing eccentric distance, the Nu number and friction factor increased and the PEC first increased and then slightly decreased. At an s of 50 mm and eccentric distance of 4 mm, the PEC could reach 2.43.

The working gas type had an important effect on the heat transfer performance of the turbulence device in the heater of Stirling engine, but the related researches were scarce, especially under the oscillatory flow. This work investigated the effects of four working gases (i.e., H2, He, N2, and CO2) on the heat transfer characteristics of a heating tube with spiral insert compared with a smooth tube under oscillating flow for a Stirling engine. The transient physical fields under different phase angles in an oscillatory cycle were analyzed, and the Nusselt (Nu) number, pressure loss and outlet temperature of working gas were studied. The results show that the cycle average Nu number of the enhanced tube with H2, He, N2, and CO2 as working gas increased to 1.67, 1.62, 1.61 and 1.72 times when comparing with those of the smooth tube. The cycle average friction coefficient increased to 1.96, 2.37, 2.36 and 2.62 times, respectively. Moreover, the performance evaluation criterion (PEC) values of the enhanced tube using the four types of working gas were all greater than 1 (1.21∼1.33). This implies that the comprehensive heat transfer performance of the heating tube with spiral insert was all improved with the four types of working gas. Moreover, the heat transfer enhancement effect was best when hydrogen was used. While considering the thermodynamic performance and safety reliability, the helium was more recommended. The findings are beneficial to enhance the operating efficiency of a Stirling engine.

Abstract Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in numbers of biological processes and have received wide attention during the past years. Since the rapid development of high-throughput transcriptome sequencing technologies (RNA-seq) lead to a large amount of RNA data, it is urgent to develop a fast and accurate coding potential predictor. Many computational methods have been proposed to address this issue, they usually exploit information on open reading frame (ORF), protein sequence, k-mer, evolutionary signatures, or homology. Despite the effectiveness of these approaches, there is still much room to improve. Indeed, none of these methods exploit the contextual information of RNA sequence, for example, k-mer features that counts the occurrence frequencies of continuous nucleotides (k-mer) in the whole RNA sequence cannot reflect local contextual information of each k-mer. In view of this shortcoming, here, we present a novel alignment-free method, CPPVec, which exploits the contextual information of RNA sequence for coding potential prediction for the first time, it can be easily implemented by distributed representation (e.g., doc2vec) of protein sequence translated from the longest ORF. The experimental findings demonstrate that CPPVec is an accurate coding potential predictor and significantly outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods.

Abstract Background Currently, high doses of cytarabine arabinoside (Ara-C)-based combined chemotherapy are commonly used in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy, but severe adverse effects and poor suppression effects in leukemia cells limit the clinical therapeutic efficiency of Ara-C-based chemotherapy due to a lack of targeting selectivity. To improve the therapeutic effect of Ara-C in AML, here, since we confirmed that transferrin receptor 1 (TFRC) expression in AML cells was constant, we generated Ara-C@HFn by encapsulating free Ara-C into self-assembled heavy ferritin chain (HFn, the ligand of TFRC) nanocages. Results The analysis of clinically relevant data suggested that the high expression levels of TFRC from AML cells would not decrease significantly after treatment with Ara-C. Ara-C@HFn can be efficiently internalized by leukemia cells, showing stronger cytotoxic effects in vitro and reducing the burden of leukemia in AML mice more effectively in vivo than free Ara-C. Ara-C@HFn treatment showed no acute toxicity in visceral organs of mice. Moreover, the analysis of clinically relevant data also suggested that there are several drugs (such as tamibarotene and ABT199) that would not cause significant expression down-regulation of TFRC in AML cells (after treatment). Conclusion The above results suggested that TFRC can be used as a constant and effective target for drug targeting delivery of AML cells. Thus Ara-C@HFn treatment can become a safe and efficient strategy for AML therapy by specifically delivering Ara-C to AML cells. Besides, the HFn nanocages are promising for improving antineoplastic effect of other AML-related therapy drugs that do not cause downregulated expression of TFRC in AML cells. Graphical Abstract

To gain an in-depth understanding of the diversity and composition of soil Acidobacteria in five different forest types in typical temperate forest ecosystems and to explore their relationship with soil nutrients. The diversity of soil Acidobacteria was determined by high-throughput sequencing technology. Soil Acidobacteria’s alpha-diversity index and soil nutrient content differed significantly among different forest types. β-diversity and the composition of soil Acidobacteria also varied across forest types. Acidobacterial genera, such as Acidobacteria_Gp1, Acidobacteria_Gp4, and Acidobacteria_Gp17, play key roles in different forests. The RDA analyses pointed out that the soil pH, available nitrogen (AN), carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio, available phosphorus (AP), total carbon (TC), and total phosphorus (TP) were significant factors affecting soil Acidobacteria in different forest types. In this study, the diversity and composition of soil Acidobacteria under different forest types in a temperate forest ecosystem were analyzed, revealing the complex relationship between them and soil physicochemical properties. These findings not only enhance our understanding of soil microbial ecology but also provide important guidance for ecological conservation and restoration strategies for temperate forest ecosystems.

Bimetallic metal−organic framework (MOF)‐derived multidimensional composites have garnered tremendous attention in electromagnetic wave absorption owing to their remarkable attenuation capacity. And the diversified application scenarios require microwaves absorption materials (MAMs) with robust environmentally adaptive, but efficiently integrating multifunctionality within single MAMs is extremely challenging. Herein, a multifunctional CoC@FeNiG‐F nanocomposite is fabricated by synergistic strategy of in situ growth, C–F···π interaction and microwave irradiation. The MAMs exhibit a strong reflection loss of −75.18 dB with 3.95 GHz effective absorption bandwidth benefited from magnetic–dielectric attenuation, impedance matching, and multiple‐reflection loss. Remarkably, it is first time to obtain the efficient MAMs accompanied with excellent mechanical (80.3 MPa), superamphiphobicity (153° and 151°), anticorrosion (45 d), and flame retardancy (V‐0 rating), which illustrate that the combination of CoC@FeNiG 3D‐skeleton and long‐chain perfluorinated epoxy remarkably improve robust multifunctionality and environmentally adaptive. In particular, the MAMs are assembled into liquid–solid triboelectric nanogenerator, and the output performance (19.7 V, 1.68 μA) and durability (10 000s) are obviously improved benefiting from the trap effect of carbonized MOF. Therefore, this work provides an efficient guideline for designing advanced MAMs with robust environmentally adaptive and sustainable energy harvesting performance in extreme environment application.

Synthetic 4-Chloroethcathinone (4-CEC) is a derivative of cathinone that belongs to one of the more severe abused substances among new psychoactive substances (NPS). Current researches on 4-CEC mainly focus on metabolite identification studies, and there is a lack of researches on pharmacokinetic, tissue distribution and metabolomics studies in vivo. A sensitive and reliable LC-MS/MS assay was developed and validated for the determination of 4-CEC concentrations in plasma and tissue homogenates. According to the pharmacokinetic results, the absorption and elimination of 4-CEC were faster after administration. The Cmax was 1896 ± 876 ng/ml, the peak time Tmax was 10.1 ± 9.2 min, and the elimination half-life t1/2 was 100.4 min. Metabolomics studies showed that the highest concentrations of 4-CEC were found in brain, lung, kidney and liver. The results of tissue biopsy showed that the liver, kidney and brain tissue had a certain degree of damage. After 4-CEC administration, amino acid-related metabolism and biosynthesis, lipid metabolism, niacin and niacinamide metabolism in mice were interfered, suggesting that 4-CEC could cause energy metabolism disorder in mice. The metabolic pathways and toxicity mechanisms related to 4-CEC entry into the body were explained at the overall metabolic level by multivariate data analysis, screening and identification of differential metabolites and metabolic pathway analysis.

Immunoglobulin A protects against infectious disease and contributes to autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Here, the authors perform a genome-wide association study for serum IgA levels, identifying 20 genome-wide significant loci, providing new insights into the genetic regulation of IgA levels.

Abstract This paper investigates the local and global performance of the platoon where multiple identical vehicles move in a closed roadway and cooperate based on nearest‐neighbour interactions. The information from the front neighbour, namely position, speed, and acceleration, is weighted non‐equally component‐wise to that from the back neighbour, which is quantified by the asymmetry level on each component. The local performance refers to the locally propagating attenuation for the bidirectional control, which captures whether the disturbance is amplified when propagating from a vehicle to its immediate neighbours. The global performance refers to the system transfer scalability, which characterises the scalability of system transfer matrix. Based on forward and backward wave transfer functions, several analytical necessary conditions of the locally propagating attenuation are obtained. Furthermore, two of these necessary conditions happen to be the same with the conditions for scalably asymptotic stability. Under mild assumptions, the locally propagating attenuation is sufficient for scalably asymptotic stability, the latter of which in turn implies the system transfer scalability. Numerical calculations further show that it is favourable for both performance measures to select the asymmetry levels on speed and acceleration with small magnitudes and located around the centre line of the band‐like region of scalably asymptotic stability.

Abstract Background Cancer diagnoses and deaths among the elderly (65 +) are expected to increase significantly over the next decade. Immune checkpoint inhibitors specifically target ICI genes and enhance immune system function. However, poor outcomes may be associated with aging. Methods We downloaded the Genomic Data Commons from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and collected gene expression data from malignant melanoma (MM) tissues, the third level as the primary site. The CKTTD ICI genes database were applied and validated using the GEO database and lab experiments. Results In 414 patients, 13 ICI genes were obtained as risk gene signature by univariate and multivariate Cox hazard models and were associated with poor survival in the older group. At 1, 3, and 5 years (79%, 76%, and 76%, respectively), we investigate TNFRFS4 gene and age prediction using novel nomogram-associated aging (HR = 1.79, P 0.001, CI = 1.32–2.45) with higher sensitivity testing.TNFRSF4 gene expression was significantly high in younger (15 years interval) MM patients (P

The chemical structure of lignite plays a fundamental role in microbial degradation, which can be altered to increase gas production. In this study, the structural changes in lignite were analyzed by conducting pretreatment and biomethane gas production experiments using crushing and ball milling processes, respectively. The results revealed that different particle size ranges of lignite considerably influence gas production. The maximum methane yield under both treatments corresponded to a particle size range of 400–500 mesh. The gas production after ball milling was higher than that after crushing, irrespective of particle size. Compared with lignite subjected to crushing, that subjected to ball milling exhibited more oxygen-containing functional groups, less coalification, more disordered structures, and small aromatic ring structures, demonstrating more unstable properties, which are typically favorable to microbial flora for the utilization and degradation of lignite. Additionally, a symbiotic microbial community comprising multiple species was established during the microbial degradation of lignite into biogas. This study provides new insights and a strong scientific foundation for further research on microbial lignite methanation.

Introduction: Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is one of the most common types of dementia. Naoxin'an capsule (NXA), a traditional Chinese medicine compound, has been used to treat VCI for a long time in the clinic. Previous studies proved that the NXA capsules could ameliorate the cerebral mitochondrion deficits of VCI animals. This study aimed to investigate the protectiveness of NXA on human brain structure and function in patients with VCI.Methods: In total, 100 VCI patients were enrolled in this 24-week trial and randomly divided into the NXA capsules group (n = 50) and the ginkgo biloba capsules control group (n = 50). Before and after the treatment, cognitive behavior tests and multimodal brain magnetic resonance imaging were analyzed to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of NXA treatment on VCI patients after 24 weeks.Results: We found that the NXA group significantly improved overall cognitive ability (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive section, p = 0.001; Mini-Mental Status Examination, p = 0.003), memory (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test, p < 0.001) and executive function (Trail Making Test-A, p = 0.024) performance after treatment compared with the control group. For brain function, the degree of centrality in the left middle frontal gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, and left supplementary motor area increased in the NXA group and decreased in the ginkgo biloba group after treatment. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) of the left precentral and right superior parietal gyrus increased, and the fALFF of the right parahippocampal and left inferior temporal gyrus decreased in the NXA group after treatment. For brain structure, the gray matter density of the left postcentral gyrus increased in the NXA group after treatment, and the total volume of white matter hyperintensity showed a decreasing trend but was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the improvement effect of NXA on executive function was associated with changes in brain function.Conclusion: These findings suggest that the NXA capsules improved cognitive performance and multiregional brain function, as well as gray matter structure in the postcentral gyrus.

An alternative approach to defect-trapped Pt single-sites on a semiconductor is reported. Here, protruding Pt sites inhibit charge recombination and cause a tip effect which enhances H2 evolution yield rates with minimal co-catalyst loading.

Plant cuticular wax is the covering of the outer layer of the plant. It forms a protective barrier on the epidermis of plants and plays a vital role like a safeguard from abiotic and biotic stresses. In the present study, Brassica napus L. materials with and without wax powder were observed. Genetic analysis showed that the separation ratio of waxy plants to waxless plants was 15:1 in the F2 population, which indicated that the wax powder formation was controlled by two pairs of genes. In order to identify the candidate genes associated with the wax powder trait of B. napus L., bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was performed. The homozygous waxy plants, the homozygous waxless plants, and plants from three parents were selected for establishing five DNA pools for genome-wide resequencing. The results of the resequencing showed that the site associated with wax powder trait was located in the region of 590,663–1,657,546 bp on chromosome A08. And 48 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found between the DNA sequences of waxy plants and waxless plants in this region. These SNPs were distributed across 16 gene loci. qRT-PCR analysis was conducted for the 16 candidate genes and three genes (BnaA08g01070D, BnaA08g02130D, and BnaA08g00890D) showed significantly differential expression between waxy and waxless parents. BnaA08g01070D and BnaA08g02130D were significantly down-regulated in the waxless parent, while BnaA08g00890D was significantly up-regulated in the waxless parent. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the BnaA08g02130D gene was enriched in lipid biosynthetic or metabolic processes. All the results in our study would provide valuable clues for exploring the genes involved in wax powder development.

The recently emerging high-throughput Pore-C (HiPore-C) can identify whole-genome high-order chromatin multi-way interactions with an ultra-high output, contributing to deciphering three-dimensional (3D) genome organization. However, it also brings new challenges to relevant data analysis. To alleviate this problem, we proposed the EpiMCI, a model for multi-way chromatin interaction prediction based on a hypergraph neural network with epigenomic signals as the input. The EpiMCI integrated separate hyperedge representations with coupling hyperedge information and obtained AUCs of 0.981 and 0.984 in the GM12878 and K562 datasets, respectively, which outperformed the current available method. Moreover, the EpiMCI can be applied to denoise the HiPore-C data and improve the data quality efficiently. Furthermore, the vertex embeddings extracted from the EpiMCI reflected the global chromatin architecture accurately. The principal component analysis suggested that it was well aligned with the activities of genomic regions at the chromatin compartment level. Taken together, the EpiMCI can accurately predict multi-way chromatin interactions and can be applied to studies relying on chromatin architecture.

Chirality is one of the most common and significant phenomenon in nature, and epoxy resin is one of the most widely used and researched thermosetting resins, however the influences of chiral carbon in epoxy group on the performances of the cured epoxy resins have ever been hardly studied, therefore it is crucial and meaningful to explore the structure–function relationship of chirality and performance of epoxy resins. Herein, from the analysis of synthesis mechanism, the different chiral configuration with high percent enantiomeric excess (>99%) and racemic bisphenol A epoxy resins were simply prepared by controlling the chirality of epichlorohydrin. The apparent activation energy of the curing process with D230 was calculated by Kissinger method and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method, respectively, and both results indicate that chirality have no effect on the curing reaction. We found that the secondary structure of epoxy monomer is untouched by its chirality, and they are all right helix structure. For this reason, the thermal stability, glass transition temperature, and thermomechanical properties of diverse chiral epoxy resins cured by D230 have no significant difference. Nevertheless, it was found that the optical rotation activity of chiral epoxy resins can be partially maintained after curing reaction, it manifests the cured products of chiral epoxy resins possesses the possibility of application in the field of polarized materials.

Detecting the association between two variables is necessary and meaningful in the era of big data. There are many measures to detect the association between them, some detect linear association, e.g., simple and fast Pearson correlation coefficient, and others detect nonlinear association, e.g., computationally expensive and imprecise maximal information coefficient (MIC). In our study, we proposed a novel maximal association coefficient (MAC) based on the idea that any nonlinear association can be considered to be composed of some piecewise-linear ones, which detects linear or nonlinear association between two variables through Pearson coefficient. We conduct experiments on some simulation data, with the results show that the MAC has both generality and equitability. In addition, we also apply MAC method to two real datasets, the major-league baseball dataset from Baseball Prospectus and dataset of credit card clients' default, to detect the association strength of pairs of variables in these two datasets respectively. The experimental results show that the MAC can be used to detect the association between two variables, and it is computationally inexpensive and precise than MIC, which may be potentially important for follow-up data analysis and the conclusion of data analysis in the future.

Abstract Background Brassica napus is the third leading source of edible oil in the world. Genic male sterility (GMS) lines provide crucial material for harnessing heterosis for rapeseed. GMS lines have been used successfully for rapeseed hybrid production in China. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial regulatory roles in various plant growth, development, and stress response processes. However, reports on miRNAs that regulate the pollen development of GMS lines in B. napus are few. Results In this study, 12 small RNA and transcriptome libraries were constructed and sequenced for the flower buds from the fertile and sterile lines of two recessive GMS (RGMS) lines, namely, “6251AB” and “6284AB”. At the same time, 12 small RNA and transcriptome libraries were also constructed and sequenced for the flower buds from the fertile and sterile lines of two dominant GMS (DGMS) lines, namely, “4001AB” and “4006AB”. Based on the results, 46 known miRNAs, 27 novel miRNAs on the other arm of known pre-miRNAs, and 44 new conserved miRNAs were identified. Thirty-five pairs of novel miRNA-3p/miRNA-5p were found. Among all the identified miRNAs, fifteen differentially expressed miRNAs with over 1.5-fold change between flower buds of sterile and fertile lines were identified, including six differentially expressed miRNAs between “4001A” and “4001B”, two differentially expressed miRNAs between “4006A” and “4006B”, four differentially expressed miRNAs between “6251A” and “6251B”, and ten differentially expressed miRNAs between “6284A” and “6284B”. The correlation analysis of small RNA and transcriptome sequencing was conducted. And 257 candidate target genes were predicted for the 15 differentially expressed miRNAs. The results of 5′ modified RACE indicated that BnaA09g48720D, BnaA09g11120D, and BnaCnng51960D were cleaved by bna-miR398a-3p, bna-miR158-3p and bna-miR159a, respectively. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs, miR159 was chosen to analyze its function. Overexpression of bna-miR159 in Arabidopsis resulted in decreased seed setting rate, and shortened siliques, illustrating that miR159 may regulate the fertility and silique development in rapeseed. Conclusions Our findings provide an overview of miRNAs that are potentially involved in GMS and pollen development. New information on miRNAs and their related target genes are provided to exploit the GMS mechanism and reveal the miRNA networks in B. napus.

Abstract This paper studies the stability and scalability of the platoon where multiple vehicles move in a closed roadway and are coupled in a bidirectional ring. Each vehicle regulates its longitudinal motion based on bidirectional asymmetric control with triple asymmetry factors. By exploiting Hermite stability criterion, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions of stability for the n‐vehicle platoon. Based on parametric robustness analysis, necessary and sufficient conditions of scalably asymptotic stability are further obtained, meaning that the stability is independent of the number of vehicles in the platoon. It is proved that symmetric spacing feedback is necessary for scalably asymptotic stability and the first spatial mode is the least stable among all the non‐zero modes. Numerical computations show that the stability region in the space of feedback gains is favourable when the asymmetry level on speed gain is small and the asymmetry level on acceleration gain is large, whereas it may deteriorate rapidly when these two asymmetry factors have different signs.

Abstract To gain an insight into the molecular mechanisms of gefitinib resistance in nonsmall cell lung cancer, we screened out the long noncoding RNA related to gefitinib resistance through microarray data in gefitinib‐sensitive and resistant cells. lncRNA ZMIZ1‐AS1 was significantly upregulated in HCC827/GR cells by screening the microarray data. Further real‐time‐qPCR results were consistent with the microarray data. Cell viability assay and flow cytometry showed that ZMIZ1‐AS1 influenced the sensitivity of HCC827/GR cells to gefitinib. RNA pull‐down assay demonstrated that hnRNPA1 was a specific binding protein for ZMIZ1‐AS1. Our results help to reveal the role and mechanism of lncRNA in the secondary resistance of gefitinib and provide a new therapeutic target for gefitinib therapy.

Rapeseed is the third leading source of edible oil in the world. Genic male sterility (GMS) lines provide crucial material for harnessing heterosis for rapeseed. GMS lines have been widely used successfully for rapeseed hybrid production. The physiological and molecular mechanism of pollen development in GMS lines of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) need to be determined for the creation of hybrids and cultivation of new varieties. However, limited studies have focused on systematically mining genes that regulate the pollen development of GMS lines in B. napus. In the present study, to determine the stage at which pollen development begins to show abnormality in the GMS lines, we performed semi-thin section analysis of the anthers with five pollen development stages. The results indicated that the abnormal pollen development in DGMS lines might start at the meiotic stage, and abnormal pollen development in RGMS lines probably occurred before the tetrad stage. To investigate the critical genes and pathways involved in pollen development in GMS lines, we constructed and sequenced 24 transcriptome libraries for the flower buds from the fertile and sterile lines of two recessive GMS (RGMS) lines (6251AB and 6284AB) and two dominant GMS (DGMS) lines (4001AB and 4006AB). A total of 23,554 redundant DEGs with over two-fold change between sterile and fertile lines were obtained. A total of 346 DEGs were specifically related to DGMS, while 1,553 DEGs were specifically related to RGMS. A total of 1,545 DEGs were shared between DGMS and RGMS. And 253 transcription factors were found to be differentially expressed between the sterile and fertile lines of GMS. In addition, 6,099 DEGs possibly related to anther, pollen, and microspore development processes were identified. Many of these genes have been reported to be involved in anther and microspore developmental processes. Several DEGs were speculated to be key genes involved in the regulation of fertility. Three differentially expressed genes were randomly selected and their expression levels were verified by quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). The results of qRT-PCR largely agreed with the transcriptome sequencing results. Our findings provide a global view of genes that are potentially involved in GMS occurrence. The expression profiles and function analysis of these DEGs were provided to expand our understanding of the complex molecular mechanism in pollen and sterility development in B. napus.

Objective: It is very important to identify individuals who are at greatest risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to potentially mitigate or minimize risk factors early in its course. We created a practical MCI risk scoring system and provided individualized estimates of MCI risk.Methods: Using data from 9,000 older adults recruited for the Beijing Ageing Brain Rejuvenation Initiative, we investigated the association of the baseline demographic, medical history, lifestyle and cognitive data with MCI status based on logistic modeling and established risk score (RS) models 1 and 2 for MCI. We evaluated model performance by computing the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Finally, RS model 3 was further confirmed and improved based on longitudinal outcome data from the progression of MCI in a sub-cohort who had an average 3-year follow-up.Results: A total of 1,174 subjects (19.8%) were diagnosed with MCI at baseline, and 72 (7.8%) of 849 developed MCI in the follow-up. The AUC values of RS models 1 and 2 were between 0.64 and 0.70 based on baseline age, education, cerebrovascular disease, intelligence and physical activities. Adding baseline memory and language performance, the AUC of RS model 3 more accurately predicted MCI conversion (AUC = 0.785).Conclusion: A combination of risk factors is predictive of the likelihood of MCI. Identifying the RSs may be useful to clinicians as they evaluate their patients and to researchers as they design trials to study possible early non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce the risk of MCI and dementia.

With the rapid development of the economy and society, the problem of energy shortage and environmental pollution is receiving more and more attention [...]

Returning straw to the field, coupled with fertilizer application, is an effective means to improve the fertility of black soil in Northeast China. Previous studies have mainly focused on the physical and chemical properties of soil structure and fertility. However, few efforts have been made to study the impact of straw returning on the microbial community of black soil in Northeast China. Here, we studied the typical northeast black soil in Heilongjiang Province to characterize the effects of long-term chemical fertilizer application and straw returning on its bacterial community structure. High-throughput sequencing was conducted to characterize the bacterial community of northeast black soil under different agricultural fertilization treatments, and the main factors affecting the bacterial community of northeast black soil were revealed through bioinformatic analyses. The results of high-throughput sequencing analyses demonstrated that the main bacterial phyla in the black soil in Northeast China were Actinomycetes, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexus, and Bacteroidetes. Long-term application of chemical fertilizers significantly increased the fertility and crop yield of black soil in Northeast China but led to significant changes in bacterial community structure and a significant decrease in diversity. Although straw returning improved soil fertility, it did not alleviate the adverse effects of the long-term application of chemical fertilizers on soil bacterial communities. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that changes in soil pH were the main factor leading to variations in soil bacterial communities. Returning straw to the field based on fertilizer application can improve black soil fertility in Northeast China but fails to alleviate the adverse effects of fertilizer-induced soil acidification on the composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities. This suggests that returning straw to the field may not have a significant beneficial impact on the microbial ecology of the black soil of Northeast China. Therefore, further research is needed to establish new straw return strategies to maximize agricultural yields while minimizing ecological impacts.

A series of long-afterglow luminescent materials (SrAl2O4: Eu2+ (SAOE), SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ (SAOED) and SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+, Gd3+ (SAOEDG)) was synthesized via the combustion method. Temperature and concentration control experiments were conducted on these materials to determine the optimal reaction temperature and ion doping concentration for each sample. The crystal structure and luminescent properties were analyzed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and afterglow attenuation curves. The outcomes demonstrate that the kind of crystal structure and the location of the emission peak were unaffected by the addition of ions. The addition of Eu2+ to the matrix’s lattice caused a broad green emission with a central wavelength of 508 nm, which was attributed to the characteristic 4f65d1 to 4f7 electronic dipole, which allowed the transition of Eu2+ ions. While acting as sensitizers, Dy3+ and Gd3+ could produce holes to create a trap energy level, which served as an electron trap center to catch some of the electrons produced by the excitation of Eu2+ but did not itself emit light. After excitation ceased, this allowed them to gently transition to the ground state to produce long-afterglow luminescence. It was observed that with the addition of sensitizer ions, the luminous intensity of the sample increased, and the afterglow duration lengthened. The elemental structure and valence states of the doped ions were determined with an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to characterize the samples. The results show that the sample was synthesized successfully, and the type and content of ions in the fluorescent powder could be determined. The fluorescence lifetime, quantum yield, bandgap value, afterglow decay time, and coordinate position in the coherent infrared energy (CIE) diagram of the three best sample groups were then analyzed and compared. Combining the prepared phosphor with ink provides a new idea and method for the field of anti-counterfeiting through screen printing.

Nanomaterials with unique structures and functions have been widely used in the fields of microelectronics, biology, medicine, and aerospace, etc. With advantages of high resolution and multi functions (e.g., milling, deposition, and implantation), focused ion beam (FIB) technology has been widely developed due to urgent demands for the 3D fabrication of nanomaterials in recent years. In this paper, FIB technology is illustrated in detail, including ion optical systems, operating modes, and combining equipment with other systems. Together with the in situ and real-time monitoring of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging, a FIB-SEM synchronization system achieved 3D controllable fabrication from conductive to semiconductive and insulative nanomaterials. The controllable FIB-SEM processing of conductive nanomaterials with a high precision is studied, especially for the FIB-induced deposition (FIBID) 3D nano-patterning and nano-origami. As for semiconductive nanomaterials, the realization of high resolution and controllability is focused on nano-origami and 3D milling with a high aspect ratio. The parameters of FIB-SEM and its working modes are analyzed and optimized to achieve the high aspect ratio fabrication and 3D reconstruction of insulative nanomaterials. Furthermore, the current challenges and future outlooks are prospected for the 3D controllable processing of flexible insulative materials with high resolution.

Three-dimensional (3D) optical information can be written in transparent glass using a focused 473 nm laser beam, which will be read by photo-modulation.

A key solution for high-efficiency solar-to-fuel conversion is fabrication of semiconductor photocatalysts with ultra-broad spectral absorption and high charge-carriers utilization efficiency. Here, we report a non-metallic plasmonic Z-scheme photocatalyst with three-dimensional (3D) W18O49 hierarchical microflowers and two-dimensional (2D) g-C3N4 nanosheets constructed by an electrostatic self-assembly method. The hydrogen production performance of the heterojunction is three times that of pure g-C3N4. This is ascribed to the efficient harvesting of photon energy from the ultraviolet to near-infrared region and the improved charge-carrier transfer on the tight-contact heterojunction interface. This work not only provides an effective reference for the construction of heterostructure based on W18O49 and g-C3N4, but also helps design materials for satisfactory solar energy conversion performance through electrostatic self-assembly methods.

Abstract Background The epigenetic abnormality of tumor-associated genes contributes to the pathogenesis of colorectal carcinoma (CRC). However, methylation in colorectal cancer is still poorly characterized. Method By integration of DNA methylation data from the GEO database and gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, the aberrantly methylated genes involved in CRC tumorigenesis were identified. Subsequent in vitro experiments further validated their role in CRC. Results We performed integrative genomic analysis and identified HPSE2, a novel tumor suppressor gene that is frequently inactivated through promoter methylation in CRC. K-M survival analysis showed that hypermethylation–low expression of heparanase 2 (HPSE2) was related to poor patient prognosis. Overexpression of HPSE2 reduced cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro. HPSE2 could regulate the p53 signaling pathway to block the cell cycle in G1 phase. Conclusion HPSE2, a novel tumor suppressor gene that is frequently inactivated through promoter methylation in CRC. HPSE2 performs a tumor suppressive function by activating the p53/ p21 signaling cascade. The promoter hypermethylation of HPSE2 is a potential therapeutic target in patients with CRC, especially those with late-stage CRC.

Around a quarter of annual worldwide silver consumption comes from recycling. It remains a primary target for researchers to increase the silver ion adsorption capacity of the chelate resin. Herein, a series of flower-like thiourea–formaldehyde microspheres (FTFM) possessing diameters of 15–20 μm were prepared via a one-step reaction under acidic conditions, and the effects of the monomer molar ratio and reaction time on the micro-flower morphology, specific surface area, and silver ion adsorption performance were explored. The nanoflower-like microstructure showed the maximum specific surface area 18.98 ± 0.949 m2/g, which was 55.8 times higher than that of the solid microsphere control. As a result, the maximum silver ion adsorption capacity was 7.95 ± 0.396 mmol/g, which was 10.9 times higher than that of the control. Kinetic studies showed that the equilibrium adsorption amount of FT1F4M was 12.61 ± 0.016 mmol/g, which was 11.6 times higher than that of the control. Additionally, the isotherm study of the adsorption process was performed, and the maximum adsorption capacity of FT1F4M was 18.17 ± 1.28 mmol/g, which was 13.8 times that of the control according to the Langmuir adsorption model. Its high absorption efficiency, convenient preparation strategy, and low cost recommend FTFM bright for further use in industrial applications.

Based on an allyl-based epoxy resin (DADGEBA), a series of fishbone-shaped polymers were deliberately designed by reacting with hydride terminated methyl phenyl polysiloxane. The GPC, FTIR, and 1H NMR spectra confirmed that their structures can be tuned by the molar ratio between polysiloxane and epoxy. Results indicated that the proportion of fishbone networks has a profound effect on curing behavior, thermal, damping, surface and mechanical properties. Especially, when the fishbone networks become dominant in the networks, the introduction of flexible polysiloxane part will not decrease the intense internal friction due to the anchor sites. That is, the values of tan δ (max) exhibit as a characterization constant. Furthermore, the cured XEP-80 presents the widest transition range spanning over 150 °C with a peak half-width of 69 °C. These results are promising in the epoxy/polysiloxane industry to guide the synthesis of low-temperature damping adhesive for engineering application.

To facilate breeding process of Brassica napus, a microspore culture and molecular marker-assisted screening combined system were proposed in this research. At early flowering stage, F1 offspring of hybridized combination HY15A ​× ​HF06 was used as donor for microspore culture to analyze effects of colchicine concentration on embryogenic and diploid rates of microspore. Treatment with 50 ​mg/L colchicine resulted in embryogenic rate of 3.56 embryos/bud, which was substantially higher than control (0.78 embryos/bud). A total of 1,387 embryos and 862 single plants were obtained after induction culture. Ploidy detection was performed for the regenerated plants by flow cytometry. Diploid rates of microspores treated with 50 ​mg/L and 70 ​mg/L colchicine were 17.2% and 21.0% respectively, which was significantly higher than control (10.5%). Totally 108 single plants that doubled successfully were randomly selected and screened using molecular marker BE10. Approximately 54 of 108 plants generated a 305 bp amplification product, whereas the other 54 plants showed a 398 bp band, thereby satisfying 1:1 separation ratio (x20.05 ​= ​0.0093). These coincided with field identification results. Findings of this study indicated that homozygous breeding material could be obtained by microspore culture in a short time, thereby remarkably accelerate breeding.

Abstract Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) is a long non-coding RNA which has been proved upregulated in various cancers. Meanwhile, CRNDE has been demonstrated to be involved in multiple biological processes of different cancers according to previous study. Moreover, recent studies suggested CRNDE might be a potential diagnostic biomarker and prognostic predictor due to its high sensitivity and specificity in cancer tissues and plasma. In this review, we summarize the biological function of CRNDE and the relevant mechanisms in cancers to establish a molecular basis for the clinical use of CRNDE in the future.

Copy number variation (CNV) is an important type of mutation in the human genome, and is significantly associated with cancer and other diseases. Accurate detection of CNVs in tumor genomes is crucial for biologists aiming to understand tumorigenesis. One of the key steps in this task is to establish a reasonable model to conduct meaningful assessment of each genome region. Although a great number of computational approaches have been developed in the past few years, none of them is versatile enough to detect CNVs in all scenarios associated with complex genomes. In this paper, we propose a new statistical approach, called CRSCNV, to detect CNVs in individual samples, based on next-generation sequencing data. The approach adopts a cross-model-based statistical strategy to test the significance of genome bins, i.e., the genome to be analyzed is divided into N parts. The bins in each part are tested by establishing a statistical model based on the remaining (N - 1) parts. The advantage of such a cross model is that it can improve the meaning of P-value assessment. We tested the performance of CRSCNV on a large number of simulation datasets and compared it to the state-of-the-art methods. The results demonstrated that CRSCNV achieved the best trade-off between recall and precision. We further validated CRSCNV, using several real sequencing samples, where it produced a number of previously reported CNVs and some additional CNVs with potential biological importance. Thus, CRSCNV is a reliable approach for CNV detection, even in scenarios of extremely low purity.

Comprehensive identification and cataloging of copy number variation (CNVs) are essential to providing a complete view of human genetic variation and to finding diseased genes. Due to the large-scale sequencing and cost control whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data, low-coverage data is favorably disposed towards CNV identification. However, such low-coverage data is sensitive to noise and sequencing biases, which results in low resolution of CNV detection in past experimental designs for WGS datasets. In this paper, we present a control-free Dirichlet process Gaussian mixture model (dpGMM) based approach, to analyze the read depth (RD) of low-coverage WGS datasets for CNV discovery. First, noise and biases of the RD signals are corrected through the preprocessing step of dpGMM. Then we assume that RD signals across genomic regions follow a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) in which each Gaussian distribution is followed by a copy number state. Without requiring the number of Gaussian distributions, dpGMM builds a Dirichlet process (DP) GMM for RD signals and further uses a DP prior to infer the number of Gaussian models. After that, we apply dpGMM to simulation datasets with different coverages and individual datasets, and compare ours to three widely used RD-based pipelines, CNVnator, GROM-RD, and BIC-seq2. Simulation results demonstrate that our approach, dpGMM, has a high F1 score in both low- and high- coverage sequences. Also, the number of overlaps between CNVs detected in real data by ours and the standard benchmark is twice as much as that detected by other tools such as CNVnator and GROM-RD.

The development of sintering resistant supported Au catalysts with high activity still remains a challenge. Here the authors construct a Au-SiO2 interface by depositing SiO2 thin layer onto Au/TiO2 catalyst which shows very high activity in CO oxidation even after calcination at 800 °C.

Iron–rhodium is a promising material for antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics applications. Here, the authors demonstrate a strong enhancement of damping during the ferromagnetic (FM) to AFM phase transition caused by lateral spin pumping from FM domains to the AFM matrix.