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Abstract Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex Hensch., commonly known as Chinese water chestnut, is a traditional aquatic vegetable in China, and now is widely cultivated throughout the world because of its high nutritional value and unique tastes. Here, we report the assembly of a 493.24 Mb telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome of E. dulcis accomplished by integrating ONT ultra-long reads, PacBio long reads and Hi-C data. The reference genome was anchored onto 111 gap-free chromosomes, containing 48.31% repeat elements and 33,493 predicted protein-coding genes. Whole genome duplication (WGD) and inter-genomic synteny analyses indicated that chromosome breakage and genome duplication in E. dulcis possibly occurred multiple times during genome evolution after its divergence from a common ancestor with Rhynchospora breviuscula at ca. 35.6 Mya. A comparative time-course transcriptome analysis of corm development revealed different patterns of gene expression between cultivated and wild accessions with the highest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs, 15,870) at the middle swelling stage and some of the DEGs were significantly enriched for starch metabolic process.

Abstract Background To assess the improvement of image quality and diagnostic acceptance of thinner slice iodine maps enabled by deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) in abdominal dual-energy CT (DECT). Methods This study prospectively included 104 participants with 136 lesions. Four series of iodine maps were generated based on portal-venous scans of contrast-enhanced abdominal DECT: 5-mm and 1.25-mm using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (Asir-V) with 50% blending (AV-50), and 1.25-mm using DLIR with medium (DLIR-M), and high strength (DLIR-H). The iodine concentrations (IC) and their standard deviations of nine anatomical sites were measured, and the corresponding coefficient of variations (CV) were calculated. Noise-power-spectrum (NPS) and edge-rise-slope (ERS) were measured. Five radiologists rated image quality in terms of image noise, contrast, sharpness, texture, and small structure visibility, and evaluated overall diagnostic acceptability of images and lesion conspicuity. Results The four reconstructions maintained the IC values unchanged in nine anatomical sites (all p > 0.999). Compared to 1.25-mm AV-50, 1.25-mm DLIR-M and DLIR-H significantly reduced CV values (all p

ABSTRACT Dental caries is associated with microbial dysbiosis caused by the excessive proliferation of Streptococcus mutans in dental biofilms, where oxidative stress serves as the major stressor to microbial communities. The adaptability of S. mutans to oxidative stress is a prerequisite for its proliferation and even for exerting its virulence. Protein acetylation is a reversible and conserved regulatory mechanism enabling bacteria to rapidly respond to external environmental stressors. However, the functions of protein acetylation in regulating oxidative stress adaptability of S. mutans are still unknown. Here, we unveil the impact of acetyltransferase ActA-mediated acetylation on regulating the oxidative stress response of S. mutans. actA overexpression increased the sensitivity of S. mutans to hydrogen peroxide and diminished its competitive ability against Streptococcus sanguinis. In contrast, actA deletion enhanced oxidative stress tolerance and competitiveness of S. mutans. The mass spectrometric analysis identified pyruvate kinase (PykF) as a substrate of ActA, with its acetylation impairing its enzymatic activity and reducing pyruvate production. Supplementation with exogenous pyruvate mitigated oxidative stress sensitivity and restored competitiveness in multi-species biofilms. In vitro acetylation analysis further confirmed that ActA directly acetylates PykF, negatively affecting its enzymatic activity. Moreover, 18 potential lysine-acetylated sites on PykF were identified in vitro, which account for 75% of lysine-acetylated sites detected in vivo. Taken together, our study elucidates a novel regulatory mechanism of ActA-mediated acetylation of PykF in modulating oxidative stress adaptability of S. mutans by influencing pyruvate production, providing insights into the importance of protein acetylation in microbial environmental adaptability and interspecies interactions within dental biofilms.IMPORTANCEDental caries poses a significant challenge to global oral health, driven by microbial dysbiosis within dental biofilms. The pathogenicity of Streptococcus mutans, a major cariogenic bacterium, is closely linked to its ability to adapt to changing environments and cellular stresses. Our investigation into the protein acetylation mechanisms, particularly through the acetyltransferase ActA, reveals a critical pathway by which S. mutans modulates its adaptability to oxidative stress, the dominant stressor within dental biofilms. By elucidating how ActA affects the oxidative stress adaptability and competitiveness of S. mutans through the regulatory axis of ActA-PykF-pyruvate, our findings provide insights into the dynamic interplay between cariogenic and commensal bacteria within dental biofilms. This work emphasizes the significance of protein acetylation in bacterial stress response and competitiveness, opening avenues for the development of novel strategies to maintain oral microbial balance within dental biofilms.

This paper proposes an adaptive image enhancement method that aims to effectively restore the brightness, detail, and natural color of various low-illumination images. To be specific, the method first constructs the initial dual-channel illumination map of the image. Next, the optimal illumination correction coefficient is calculated by the prior information entropy of the initial illumination map, which helps to correct potentially erroneous illumination estimates. To restore the illumination, gamma correction is used with the optimal illumination correction coefficient. Finally, an improved perfect reflection constraint model is used to restore the color of the image. Both visual analysis and quantitative comparison with state-of-the-art methods demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in terms of brightness adjustment, detail recovery, and color restoration.

Steamed bread is one of the traditional Chinese staple foods, with a history of over 1 700 years. With the continuous improvement of people’s quality of life, a more abundant variety of steamed bread has been made, and the demand for flavor has become more and more important. Consumers are attracted by steamed bread with pleasant flavor, so there are higher requirements for industrial yeast fermented steamed bread. There are many factors that influence the flavor formation of steamed bread, including the type of leavening agent, raw materials and processing technology. Different starters significantly affect the flavor formation of steamed bread due to the different types and numbers of microorganisms they contain. The major factors affecting the flavor of steamed bread are reviewed to provide a reference for theoretical studies of steamed bread flavor and provide practical guidance for the development of steamed bread with better flavor suitable for industrial production.

PurposeKidney transplantation (KT) has the potential to reverse the cardiac changes caused by end-stage renal disease, and it may be inaccurate to analysis the left ventricular function by conventional echocardiography due to afterload. This study aimed to investigate the utility of pressure strain loops (PSLs) in evaluating left ventricular performance in patients underwent KT.MethodsWe enrolled 60 patients with end-stage renal disease who underwent KT between January 2022 and July 2023, and 60 healthy controls with a similar distribution of gender and age to the patients. All participants underwent conventional echocardiography and three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE). Long axis, short axis, and four cavity images were collected and cardiac parameters were measured. The echocardiographic changes of cardiac structure and function of all patients before KT and about 12 months after KT were recorded. Left ventricular myocardial work parameters were acquired by PSLs, including the global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), global work efficiency (GWE) and global longitudinal strain (GLS). In addition, the correlation between PSLs and clinical data were explored.ResultsCompared with controls, the conventional echocardiographic parameters, myocardial function indicators GWI and GCW appeared no difference in post-KT group, while the GWE and GLS decreased (p

In this paper, a novel design of the illumination optical system for a laser target simulator is investigated to determine the optimal relationship between the uniformity of the illumination system and the energy utilization in a laser target simulator. First, the optimal size of the fly-eye lens unit is calculated from the parameters of the DMD to improve the energy utilization of the system; second, the optimal parameters of the TIR prism group are calculated based on the size of the illuminating beam and the optimal deflection angle of the TIR prism group is analyzed, which results in the compact overall structure of the system and improves the uniformity under the premise of ensuring that there is not much change in the energy utilization; and finally, the optimal design of the illumination optics system for laser target simulators is investigated based on the Finally, based on the Scheimpflug principle, the uniformity of the illumination system is further improved by solving the deformation of the image plane caused by the insertion of the TIR prism group. The results show that the simulation results of the system's uniformity reach 96.93%, the simulation results of the energy utilization are 60.05%, and the structure is compact, and the system designed by this method can provide a good design solution to obtain high energy utilization and uniformity.

The development of a sensor capable of selectively detecting hydrogen levels in the environment holds immense importance for ensuring the safer utilization of hydrogen energy. In this study, a hydrogen sensor made of Ce-doped single-layer graphene (SLG)/SnO2 composite material was fabricated using a hydrothermal method. The study examined the impact of varying Ce doping concentrations on the hydrogen sensing capabilities of the SLG/SnO2 matrix. The results show that the SLG/SnO2 hydrogen sensor doped with 2 mol% Ce demonstrated optimal performance at a humidity of 20%. It operated most efficiently at 250 °C, with a response of 2.49, representing a 25.75% improvement over the undoped sample. The response/recovery times were 0.46/3.92 s, which are 54.9% shorter than those of the undoped sample. The enhancement in hydrogen sensitivity stems from the synergistic effect of Ce and SLG, which facilitates the coexistence of n–n and p–n heterojunctions, thereby increasing carrier mobility and refining grain structure. Analysis via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals that Ce increases the material’s oxygen vacancy concentration, enhancing its hydrogen sensitivity. Ce-doped SLG/SnO2, with its robust hydrogen sensitivity, represents one of the leading candidates for future hydrogen gas sensors.

Post-transcriptional regulation by small RNAs and post-translational modifications (PTM) such as lysine acetylation play fundamental roles in physiological circuits, offering rapid responses to environmental signals with low energy consumption. Yet, the interplay between these regulatory systems remains underexplored. Here, we unveil the cross-talk between sRNAs and lysine acetylation in Streptococcus mutans, a primary cariogenic pathogen known for its potent acidogenic virulence. Through systematic overexpression of sRNAs in S. mutans, we identified sRNA SmsR1 as a critical player in modulating acidogenicity, a key cariogenic virulence feature in S. mutans. Furthermore, combined with the analysis of predicted target mRNA and transcriptome results, potential target genes were identified and experimentally verified. A direct interaction between SmsR1 and 5'-UTR region of pdhC gene was determined by in vitro binding assays. Importantly, we found that overexpression of SmsR1 reduced the expression of pdhC mRNA and increased the intracellular concentration of acetyl-CoA, resulting in global changes in protein acetylation levels. This was verified by acetyl-proteomics in S. mutans, along with an increase in acetylation level and decreased activity of LDH. Our study unravels a novel regulatory paradigm where sRNA bridges post-transcriptional regulation with post-translational modification, underscoring bacterial adeptness in fine-tuning responses to environmental stress.

Abstract This paper proposes a method to enhance the accuracy of power load forecasting by considering the variability in the impact of multi‐dimensional meteorological information on power load in diverse regions. The proposed method employs spatio‐temporal fusion (SF) of multi‐dimensional meteorological information and applies the Copula theory to analyze the non‐linear coupling of meteorological information from multiple stations with power load to achieve SF in the spatial dimension. To enhance the accuracy of load forecasting in the time dimension, this paper improves the core parameters of the variational mode decomposition (VMD) using the marine predators algorithm (MPA) and utilizes the weighted permutation entropy (WPE) to construct the MPA‐VMD fitness function for the adaptive decomposition of the load sequence. Moreover, this paper constructs input sets for the long short‐term memory model and the MPA‐LSSVM model by combining each component of the time dimension and each meteorological information of the spatial dimension to obtain the prediction results of each component. The prediction model corresponding to each component is selected according to the evaluation index and reconstructed to obtain the overall prediction results. The analysis results demonstrate that the proposed forecasting method outperforms the traditional forecasting method and effectively enhances the accuracy of power load forecasting.

Abstract Background Traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been intensively studied for their role in the treatment of tumours. However, these therapies often cause side effects for patients, which calls for the development of novel treatment options for tumours. B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) reportedly apoptosis-inducing effects in tumour cells and is associated with the progression and treatment of multiple tumours. Nevertheless, little is known about its potential role in tumour diagnosis and targeted therapy. Findings The results of the study demonstrated that the interaction of BNIP3 with HDAC1 may affect the progression of breast invasive cancer (BRCA), sarcoma (SARC), kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), and low-grade glioma (LGG). BNIP3 seemed to exert its effects in BRCA and SARC primarily through gene silencing and integrator complex, and in KIRC and LGG, mainly by affecting olfactory function, suggesting that targeted therapy can be developed based on the above signalling pathway and downstream molecules. Interpretation BNIP3 has emerged as a promising therapeutic and diagnostic target for BRCA, SARC, KIRC, and LGG, providing new insights into tumour molecular therapies in the clinic.

The efforts to discover HIV therapeutics have continued since the first human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patient was confirmed in the 1980s. Ten years later, the first HIV drug, zidovudine (AZT), targeting HIV reverse transcriptase, was developed. Meanwhile, scientists were enlightened to discover new drugs that target different HIV genes, like integrase, protease, and host receptors. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is the most feasible medical intervention to suppress the virus in people with HIV (PWH) and control the epidemic. ART treatment has made HIV a chronic infection rather than a fatal disease, but ART does not eliminate latent reservoirs of HIV-1 from the host cells; strict and life-long adherence to ART is required for the therapy to be effective in patients. In this review, we first discussed the scientific history of conventional HIV drug discovery since scientists need to develop more and more drugs to solve drug-resistant issues and release the side effects. Then, we summarized the novel research technologies, like gene editing, applied to HIV treatment and their contributions to eliminating HIV as a complementary therapy.

Abstract Objectives To evaluate robustness of dual-energy CT (DECT) radiomics features of virtual unenhanced (VUE) image and virtual monoenergetic image (VMI) among different imaging platforms. Methods A phantom with sixteen clinical-relevant densities was scanned on ten DECT platforms with comparable scan parameters. Ninety-four radiomic features were extracted via Pyradiomics from VUE images and VMIs at energy level of 70 keV (VMI70keV). Test–retest repeatability was assessed by Bland–Altman analysis. Inter-platform reproducibility of VUE images and VMI70keV was evaluated by coefficient of variation (CV) and quartile coefficient of dispersion (QCD) among platforms, and by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) between platform pairs. The correlation between variability of CT number radiomics reproducibility was estimated. Results 92.02% and 92.87% of features were repeatable between scan–rescans for VUE images and VMI70keV, respectively. Among platforms, 11.30% and 28.39% features of VUE images, and 15.16% and 28.99% features of VMI70keV were with CV 0.90 and CCC > 0.90 between platform pairs were 10.00% and 9.86% in VUE images and 11.23% and 11.23% in VMI70keV. The CT number inter-platform reproducibility using CV and QCD showed negative correlations with percentage of the first-order radiomics features with CV

Abstract CreTA, CRISPR-regulated toxin-antitoxin (TA), safeguards CRISPR-Cas immune systems by inducing cell dormancy/death upon their inactivation. Here, we characterize a bacterial CreTA associating with the I-F CRISPR-Cas in Acinetobacter. CreT is a distinct bactericidal small RNA likely targeting several essential RNA molecules that are required to initiate protein synthesis. CreA guides the CRISPR effector to transcriptionally repress CreT. We further demonstrate a proof-of-concept antimicrobial strategy named ATTACK, which AssociaTes TA and CRISPR-Cas to Kill multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens. In this design, CRISPR-Cas is programed to target antibiotic resistance gene(s) to selectively kill MDR pathogens or cure their resistance, and when CRISPR-Cas is inactivated or suppressed by unwanted genetic or non-genetic events/factors, CreTA triggers cell death as the last resort. Our data highlight the diversity of RNA toxins coevolving with CRISPR-Cas, and illuminate a combined strategy of CRISPR and TA antimicrobials to ‘ATTACK’ MDR pathogens.

A simple protocol for the sulfur-promoted conversion of aromatic aldehydes to aromatic nitriles has been developed. This strategy enables the one-pot conversion of inexpensive and readily available aromatic aldehydes into highly valuable aromatic nitriles using a cheap inorganic ammonium salt as the nitrogen source in the absence of metals. Significantly, a broad scope of substrates was explored using this strategy, and various groups, including alkyl, alkoxyl, alkylthiol, hydroxyl, amino, aryl, alkenyl, cyano, carboxyl, and borate ester groups were tolerated, and good to excellent yields were achieved in most cases. Additionally, polycyclic aromatic aldehydes and heteroaromatic aldehydes also could be converted to the corre-sponding nitriles with satisfactory yields. This method can be utilized as a powerful tool for the cyanation of complex molecules.

The dynamic star simulator is a commonly used ground-test calibration device for star sensors. For the problems of slow calculation speed, low integration, and high power consumption in the traditional star chart simulation method, this paper designs a FPGA-based star chart display algorithm for a dynamic star simulator. The design adopts the USB 2.0 protocol to obtain the attitude data, uses the SDRAM to cache the attitude data and video stream, extracts the effective navigation star points by searching the starry sky equidistant right ascension and declination partitions, and realizes the pipelined displaying of the star map by using the parallel computing capability of the FPGA. Test results show that under the conditions of chart field of view of Φ20° and simulated magnitude of 2.0∼6.0 Mv, the longest time for calculating a chart is 72 μs under the clock of 148.5 MHz, which effectively improves the chart display speed of the dynamic star simulator. The FPGA-based star map display algorithm gets rid of the dependence of the existing algorithm on the computer, reduces the volume and power consumption of the dynamic star simulator, and realizes the miniaturization and portable demand of the dynamic star simulator.

As one of the most important transportation hubs and industrial bases in China, Zhengzhou has suffered from serious PM2.5 pollution for a long time. However, the investigation of contamination status and possible exposure risks of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) in PM2.5 from Zhengzhou is rare. In this work, a comprehensive study of pollution levels, seasonal variations, sources, and potential health risks of PM2.5-bound EPFRs in Zhengzhou was conducted for the first time. The atmospheric concentrations of EPFRs in PM2.5 from Zhengzhou ranged from 1.732 × 1012 spin m−3 to 7.182 × 1014 spin m−3 between 2019 and 2020. Relatively serious contamination was noticed in winter and spring. Primary fossil fuel combustion and Fe-mediated secondary formation were apportioned as possible sources of PM2.5-bound EPFRs in Zhengzhou. Moreover, to avert the bias of the toxicity assessment induced by utilization of incompletely extracted EPFRs from sample filter, simulatively generated EPFRs were applied to toxicological evaluations (cell viability and reactive oxygen species assays). Corresponding experimental dosages were based on the estimated adults’ annual exposure amounts of EPFRs in real PM2.5 samples. The results elucidated that EPFRs might cause growth inhibition and oxidative stress of human lung cells, suggesting the possible exposure-induced health concerns for local people in Zhengzhou. This study provides practical information of real contamination status of PM2.5-bound EPFRs in Zhengzhou, which is favorable to local air pollution control and reduction of exposure risks on public health in central China.

Abstract The tactile pressure sensor is of great significance in flexible electronics, but sensitivity customization over the required working range with high linearity still remains a critical challenge. Despite numerous efforts to achieve high sensitivity and a wide working range, most sensitive microstructures tend to be obtained only by inverting naturally existing templates without rational design based on fundamental contact principles or models for piezoresistive pressure sensors. Here, a positive design strategy with a hyperelastic model and a Hertzian contact model for comparison was proposed to develop a flexible pressure sensor with highly customizable linear sensitivity and linearity, in which the microstructure distribution was precalculated according to the desired requirement prior to fabrication. As a proof of concept, three flexible pressure sensors exhibited sensitivities of 0.7, 1.0, and 1.3 kPa− 1 over a linear region of up to 200 kPa, with a low sensitivity error (

Abstract Light initiated multi-gate semiconductor switch (LIMS) is a kind of power electronic device which has many differences from traditional thyristor triggered by electric pulse. LIMS is triggered by laser, the turn-on time is smaller, and the anti-electromagnetic interferences is strong. The opening mode of LIMS is obviously different to traditional thyristor. After the laser into the gate area, a large number of electrons and holes will appear in P-base region, holes gather in the area of P-base in PN junction J2, and electrons gather in N-drift region around the PN junction J2. PN junction J2 will open first, then PN junction J3 opens. The delay time of the NPN and PNP thyristors is close to zero when the laser pulse is narrow and the peak power is high, so the turn-on velocity is fast. To optimize the characteristics of the LIMS at high temperatures, we propose a new structure of the LIMS with the optimization of the n+ layer, circular light gate, and the new-style edge termination. The diameter of the LIMS is 23 mm. The experiment results show that the leakage current of the proposed LIMS has been decreased from more than 1 mA to 500 μA at 125 °C, the output current of the LIMS is 10.2 kA with a voltage of 4 kV at 85 °C, and the output current of the LIMS is 12.1 kA with a voltage of 4 kV at − 55 °C. Additionally, di/dt is larger than 30 kA/μs.

The activity status of muscles in real-time should be obtained in hand rehabilitation training to adjust the auxiliary grip-strength value with a good hand grip-strength prediction model. Surface electromyography (sEMG) has great advantages in reflecting human hand motions noninvasively. Therefore, based on sEMG, the work proposed a hand grip-strength prediction method optimizing the support vector regression (SVR) model through Sparrow Search Algorithm (SSA). First, the time domain characteristics were extracted from sEMG signals, and grip-strength signals were interpolated by the cubic spline function to extract the average value of grip-strength signals. Then Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to select appropriate feature combinations to enter the SSA-SVR model for grip-strength prediction. Finally, particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) were used to optimize the SVR model, and the effectiveness of the SSA-SVR model was verified by comparison. Random forest (RF) with SSA algorithm and BP neural network models was optimized to test the effect of SSA on improving the performance of the SVR model. The performance of the SSA-SVR model was better than that of other regression prediction models, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.5054, an average absolute error (MAE) of 0.3242, an average absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 0.0864, and an accuracy (R2) of 93.2%. It can accurately predict the hand grip-strength value, which is suitable for hand rehabilitation training.

Sample pretreatment is an essential step in the analytical process. Solid phase extraction (SPE) procedures are widely used for clean-up and enriching analytes in sample preparation due to the complex sample matrix and low concentration level of target compounds. The sorbent is the critical part and plays a vital role in the SPE process. The combination strategies of green sample preparation (GSP) with sorbents have been taken seriously to establish high-performance and environmental-friendly SPE methods. This work mainly reviewed the capacity of different functional materials to be used as SPE sorbents which fulfilled the GSP requirements, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), natural products, and carbon-based materials. Advanced computer-assisted strategies for the synthesis and usage of green SPE sorbents are also overviewed. Finally, recent advanced applications of these green adsorption materials for SPE procedure were summarized. This review aims to retrace latest research of green sorbents-based SPE techniques under the perspective of GSP, suggesting the future synthesis and application of adsorption materials should pose the features of less reagent and energy usage, less labor and time consuming, and high extraction efficiency.

A serious game titled “Crossing the Jungle” was developed in this study to train children’s inhibition skills using the Stroop task. The effects of inhibitory control on children were tested by a pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up test. In the control groups, children were asked to play a commercial game instead. In experiment 1, 48 participants chose either the training or control game voluntarily, whereas, in experiment 2, 44 participants were randomly assigned to either group. In both experiments, children exposed to the serious game demonstrated training effects from the Stroop spatial task and near-transfer effects from the Flanker task. However, transferring effects were not produced by the Go/No-go task. As a result, although the serious game “Crossing the Jungle” does not improve response inhibition, children aged 9 to 12 who play it may benefit from improved interference inhibition abilities. This provides evidence for the mutual independence of interference inhibition and response inhibition in children at this stage.

The Zizania latifolia is usually infected by the obligate parasitic fungus Ustilago esculenta to form an edible fleshy stem which is an aquatic vegetable called Jiaobai in China. The infection by the teliospore (T) strain of U. esculenta induces Z. latifolia forming gray fleshy stems, while the mycelia-teliospore (MT) strain of U. esculenta induces white fleshy stems which are more suitable for edibility than gray fleshy stems. The mechanism of this phenomenon is still largely unknown. One of the possible causes is the diversity of endophytic microbial communities between these two fleshy stems. Therefore, we utilized fungal ITS1 and bacterial 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing to investigate the diversity of endophytic microbial communities in the two different fleshy stems of Z. latifolia. The results revealed that the α diversity and richness of endophytic fungi in white Z. latifolia were significantly greater than in gray Z. latifolia. The dominant fungal genus in both fleshy stems was U. esculenta, which accounted for over 90% of the endophytic fungi. The community composition of endophytic fungi in gray and white Z. latifolia was different except for U. esculenta, and a negative correlation was observed between U. esculenta and other endophytic fungi. In addition, the dominant bacterial genus in gray Z. latifolia was Alcaligenaceae which is also negatively correlated with other bacterium communities. Additionally, the co-occurrence network of white Z. latifolia was found to have a stronger scale, connectivity, and complexity compared to that of gray Z. latifolia. And the detected beneficial bacteria and pathogens in the stems of Z. latifolia potentially compete for resources. Furthermore, the function of endophytic bacteria is more abundant than endophytic fungi in Z. latifolia. This research investigated the correlation between the development of Z. latifolia fleshy stems and endophytic microbial communities. Our findings indicate that the composition of endophytic microbial communities is closely related to the type of Z. latifolia fleshy stems. This research also suggests the potential utilization of specific microbial communities to enhance the growth and development of Z. latifolia, thereby contributing to the breeding of Z. latifolia.

Objective: To compare the image quality between the deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) and iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms via the dedicated phantom. Method: ACR quality assurance phantom (Gammex 464) was scanned by GE Revolution Apex. The CT value accuracy, low contrast resolution, image uniformity and high contrast resolution of five substances from module 1 to module 4 were measured respectively. Through the above indicators, the image quality of three levels (DL, DM and DH) of Truefedelitytm (TFI) and three levels (30%, 60% and 90%) of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (asir-V, hereinafter referred to as AV) under high dose (20 mgy) were compared. The comparison between the two algorithms for each parameter was tested by One-Way Anova. Results: The high/low-contrast resolution of the six image series were consistent (high-contrast resolution: 10 lp/cm; low-contrast resolution: 6 mm). The two algorithms both slightly overestimated the CT value of polyethylene, air and acrylic, and no statistically significant difference was found among the difference of CT values of the substances. Both algorithms underestimated the CT value of bone and the solid water; TFI showed better performance in evaluating the solid water which was closer to the real value, though statistical difference was not found between each group of images. Among the 6 groups of images, TFI DH showed the best image uniformity and at the same reconstruction level, TFI showed better uniformity than AV. Conclusion: DLIR can further reduced image noise while maintaining image spatial resolution and CT value accuracy at high dose level.

A strategy for the synthesis of benzisothiazoles by a three-component reaction was developed using elemental sulfur and ammonium as heteroatom components under transition metal-free conditions. The reaction is preferably based on pyridine or quinoline ring substrate, and good to excellent yields can be obtained. Notably, this reaction has been applied to the gram-scale synthesis of bioactive molecules.

Purpose: To compare the effect of radiation dose and tube potential on image quality of CT through the task-based image quality assessment parameters. Methods: We scanned Gammex 464 (the ACR quality assurance phantom) with GE Revolution Apex CT. Three radiation doses (5, 10, 20 mGy) and three tube potentials (80, 100, 120 kVp) were used to reconstruct nine sets of image. Bone and acrylic inserts from module 1 of the phantom was selected for the measurement of task-based transfer function (TTF, representing spatial resolution) and TTF50% was recorded for each set of images. Module 3 was selected for the measurement of noise power spectrum (NPS, representing image noise) and noise value, spatial frequency (f-peak) and NPS peak value were recorded for each set of images. Detestability index (\begin{document}${d}'$\end{document} representing lesion detestability) was furtherly calculated based on TTF and NPS of images. The effect of radiation dose and tube potential on image quality was evaluated by One-way Anova analysis. Multiple comparisons for P value were corrected by FDR. Results: Compared with radiation dose, the effect of tube potential on TTF50% was more obvious, but there was no significant difference between them in bone and acrylic substances. Noise and NPS peak significantly decreased with the increase of both radiation dose and tube potential but no statistical difference was found. Compared with tube potential, radiation dose showed greater impact on f-peak, but no statistical difference was found. d’ was significantly improved as radiation dose increased; while no statistical difference was found under different tube potentials. Conclusion: Image quality is predominantly influenced by radiation dose rather than tube potential. Image noise and lesion detestability is signifcantly improved as radiation dose elevates. Image quality could be comprehensively inflected by the task-based image quality assessment.

Protein acetylation is a common and reversible posttranslational modification tightly governed by protein acetyltransferases and deacetylases crucial for various biological processes in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Although recent studies have characterized many acetyltransferases in diverse bacterial species, only a few protein deacetylases have been identified in prokaryotes, perhaps in part due to their limited sequence homology. In this study, we identified YkuR, encoded by smu_318, as a unique protein deacetylase in Streptococcus mutans. Through protein acetylome analysis, we demonstrated that the deletion of ykuR significantly upregulated protein acetylation levels, affecting key enzymes in translation processes and metabolic pathways, including starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and biofilm formation. In particular, YkuR modulated extracellular polysaccharide synthesis and biofilm formation through the direct deacetylation of glucosyltransferases (Gtfs) in the presence of NAD+. Intriguingly, YkuR can be acetylated in a nonenzymatic manner, which then negatively regulated its deacetylase activity, suggesting the presence of a self-regulatory mechanism. Moreover, in vivo studies further demonstrated that the deletion of ykuR attenuated the cariogenicity of S. mutans in the rat caries model, substantiating its involvement in the pathogenesis of dental caries. Therefore, our study revealed a unique regulatory mechanism mediated by YkuR through protein deacetylation that regulates the physiology and pathogenicity of S. mutans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The projection stellar target simulator is a stellar target simulator in which star points are projected to be imaged on a fixed plane at a fixed distance. Compared with conventional stellar target simulators, the projection stellar target simulator makes star points visible and provides the necessary condition for a semi-physical simulation test of the star camera. In this paper, the projection stellar target simulator optical system with high-quality imaging is designed by combining the projection technology, which breaks the collimated imaging of the conventional stellar target simulator optical system, and offers a new thought to solve the problem of decreasing the calibration accuracy caused by the influence of the coaxiality and other factors in the stellar target simulator calibrating the star camera. Based on the imaging behavior of the star map, this paper proposes a method to realize the automatic detection of a projection stellar target simulator by using CCD and introduces the composition and working principle of the detection system in detail. According to the imaging characteristics of star points, denoising and threshold segmentation of the star map are carried out, and an improved centroid algorithm is proposed to achieve high-precision positioning of the centroid coordinates of the star points. The measurement model and measuring formulas for the angular distance between stars are established. The error sources of the detection system are analyzed and obtain the theoretical error of 9.22″ for this detection system. The result of an actual test experiment shows that the position error of single star is less than 11″, in line with the theoretical analysis of the error, indicating the detection system has high detection precision and meets the requirement for the detection accuracy of the projection stellar target simulator.

This study explored the effects of social networking site use intensity, upward social comparison, and optimism on college students’ conspicuous consumption and their mechanisms of action using a sample of Chinese college students. A total of 717 Chinese college students (M = 20.08, SD = 1.44; 73.9% female) completed the Social Network Use Intensity Scale, the Upward Social Comparison Scale, the Life Orientation Test, and the Conspicuous Consumption Scale. The results indicate that (1) the intensity of use of social networking sites significantly positively predicts the conspicuous consumption behavior of college students; (2) upward social comparison plays a mediating role between the intensity of social networking site usage and conspicuous consumption; and (3) optimism moderates the second half of the mediating path between the intensity of social networking site use, upward social comparison, and conspicuous consumption. Specifically, the relationship between upward social comparison and conspicuous consumption among college students with low optimism levels is stronger than that among college students with high levels of optimism. Intensity has a stronger positive effect on conspicuous consumption through upward social comparison. It is concluded that the intensity of college students’ use of social networking sites can affect their conspicuous consumption behavior through upward social comparison, and this relationship is moderated by optimism. The results of the study help to reveal the influence of SNS (social networking site) use behavior on conspicuous consumption and its mechanism of action and have implications for reducing the negative impact of conspicuous consumption on college students.

Thin-film sensors are regarded as advanced technologies for in situ condition monitoring of components operating in harsh environments, such as aerospace engines. Nevertheless, these sensors encounter challenges due to the high-temperature oxidation of materials and intricate manufacturing processes. This paper presents a simple method to fabricate high temperature-resistant oxidized SiCN precursor and La(Ca)CrO3 composite thin film temperature sensors by screen printing and air annealing. The developed sensor demonstrates a broad temperature response ranging from 200 °C to 1100 °C with negative temperature coefficients (NTC). It exhibits exceptional resistance to high-temperature oxidation and maintains performance stability. Notably, the sensor’s resistance changes by 3% after exposure to an 1100 °C air environment for 1 h. This oxidation resistance improvement surpasses the currently reported SiCN precursor thin-film sensors. Additionally, the sensor’s temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) can reach up to −7900 ppm/°C at 200 °C. This strategy is expected to be used for other high-temperature thin-film sensors such as strain gauges, heat flux sensors, and thermocouples. There is great potential for applications in high-temperature field monitoring.

In a laboratory environment, in order to test the attitude recognition capability and accuracy of the satellite attitude sensor—the infrared Earth sensor—the infrared Earth simulator is fixed on a five-axis turntable to enable multi-angle testing. In the past, the temperature control system of the Earth simulator was water cooled, which not only affected the working accuracy of the Earth simulator but also affected its size and portability and made it more difficult to use on the turntable. Therefore, we designed a cooling method for the cold plate based on semiconductor cooling technology combined with air cooling, and we designed a fuzzy PID control algorithm to accurately control the temperature according to this cooling method. In this article, we use SOLIWORKS to build the system model for the system and use the ANAYS Workbench to perform temperature analysis of the Earth simulator. The results show that the cold plate temperature can be maintained at 20.089 °C when the hot plate temperature is 85 °C. The overall temperature uniformity of the hot plate is better than ±0.3 °C, which meets the index requirements of the Earth simulator. We found that this cooling method can replace water cooling, giving the simulator the advantage of being miniaturized, and it can be adaptable to the turntable, which can be widely used in various sizes of Earth simulators and in various complex environments and operating conditions.