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Phage contamination is one of the significant problems in the food fermentation industry, which eventually causes economic losses to the industry. Here, we investigated the viability of Lactobacillus plantarum phage P1 and P2 using various biocides treatments (ethanol, isopropanol, sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid). Results indicated that phage P1 and P2 could be completely inactivated by treatment with 75% ethanol for 5 min, followed by 400 ppm of sodium hypochlorite treatment for 5 min. Phage P2 could be completely inactivated in the reverse sequence, while 800 ppm of sodium hypochlorite was required to achieve a similar effect for phage P1. Moreover, 100% isopropanol could increase the inactivating effect of 75% ethanol. This study may provide basic information on using multiple antimicrobials for phage control in laboratories and food plants.

Male-sterile plants are used in hybrid breeding to improve yield in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Developing the capability to alter fertility under different environmental conditions could broaden germplasm resources and simplify hybrid production. However, molecular mechanisms potentially underlying such a system in soybean were unclear. Here, using positional cloning, we identified a gene, MALE STERILITY 3 (MS3), which encodes a nuclear-localized protein containing a plant homeodomain (PHD)-finger domain. A spontaneous mutation in ms3 causing premature termination of MS3 translation and partial loss of the PHD-finger. Transgenetic analysis indicated that MS3 knockout resulted in nonfunctional pollen and no self-pollinated pods, and RNA-seq analysis revealed that MS3 affects the expression of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism. Strikingly, the fertility of mutant ms3 can restore under long-d conditions. The mutant could thus be used to create a new, more stable photoperiod-sensitive genic male sterility line for two-line hybrid seed production, with significant impact on hybrid breeding and production.

Adaptive changes in crops contribute to the diversity of agronomic traits, which directly or indirectly affect yield. The change of pubescence form from appressed to erect is a notable feature during soybean domestication. However, the biological significance and regulatory mechanism underlying this transformation remain largely unknown. Here, we identified a major-effect locus, PUBESCENCE FORM 1 ( PF1 ), the upstream region of Mao1 , that regulates pubescence form in soybean. The insertion of a Ty3/ Gypsy retrotransposon in PF1 can recruit the transcription factor GAGA-binding protein to a GA-rich region, which up-regulates Mao1 expression, underpinning soybean pubescence evolution. Interestingly, the proportion of improved cultivars with erect pubescence increases gradually with increasing latitude, and erect-pubescence cultivars have a higher yield possibly through a higher photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic stability. These findings open an avenue for molecular breeding through either natural introgression or genome editing toward yield improvement and productivity.

The linear properties of the low-frequency shear Alfv\'en waves such as those associated with the beta-induced Alfv\'en eigenmodes (BAEs) and the low-frequency modes observed in reversed-magnetic-shear DIII-D discharges (W. Heidbrink, et al 2021 Nucl. Fusion 61 066031) are theoretically investigated and delineated based on the theoretical framework of the general fishbone-like dispersion relation (GFLDR). By adopting representative experimental equilibrium profiles, it is found that the low-frequency modes and BAEs are, respectively, the reactive-type and dissipative-type unstable modes with dominant Alfv\'enic polarization, thus the former being more precisely called low-frequency Alfv\'en modes (LFAMs). More specifically, due to different instability mechanisms, the maximal drive of BAEs occurs, in comparison to LFAMs, when the minimum of the safety factor ($q_{min}$) deviates from a rational number. Meanwhile, the BAE eigenfunction peaks at the radial position of the maximum energetic particle pressure gradient, resulting in a large deviation from the $q_{min}$ surface. Moreover, the ascending frequency spectrum patterns of the experimentally observed BAEs and LFAMs can be theoretically reproduced by varying $q_{min}$ and also be well interpreted based on the GFLDR. The present analysis illustrates the solid predictive capability of the GFLDR and its practical usefulness in enhancing the interpretative capability of both experimental and numerical simulation results.

Objective This study aimed to determine the correlation between interpregnancy interval (IPI) and neurodevelopmental delay in infants and to explore the potential mediating role of maternal-fetal glucose metabolism. Design Population based cohort study. Setting China Participants A total of 2559 mother-infant pairs between 2018 and 2022. Methods The prospective birth cohort study included 2559 mother-infant pairs. The IPI is calculated by subtracting the gestational age of the current pregnancy from the interval at the end of the previous pregnancy. Maternal fasting venous blood collection at 24-28 weeks and cord blood collection at delivery. The association between IPI and neurodevelopment was determined by logistic regression. Main outcome measures Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 12 months in offspring were assessed by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Edition 3 (ASQ-3). Results In our cohort, 14.0% had an IPI

In this paper, the experimental results indicated that the hydrostatic pressure descent (HPD) curves of cement slurry include a stabilization stage, slow descent stage, and rapid descent stage. In the stabilization stage, the gravity of the solid particles dispersed in pore water was effectively transferred by the pore water. In the slow descent stage, the microstructure of cement slurry changed from “dispersed particles” to “gel network”, causing the gravity of the particles to be diverted to external interfaces. In the rapid descent stage, hydrostatic pressure of the cement slurries was attributed to the pore water. But the rapid reduction in the pore size increased the capillary pressure of the pore water, causing the gravity of pore water to transfer to external interfaces via the “gel network”. Finally, when the most probable pore diameter decreased to approximately 50 nm, the hydrostatic pressure of the cement slurry was reduced to zero.

Background: The restriction factor, TRIM5α is known to limit retroviral infection at an early post-entry stage in a species-specific manner. The current study was designed to assess the efficacy of TRIM5α in restricting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using a pseudo-viral infection model in cynomolgus monkey embryonic fibroblast cells (CMEFs down the TRIM5α expression using the lentivirus short hairpin RNA (shRNA) knockdown vector system. Methods: Three shRNAs against the TRIM5α gene were designed and cloned into lentiviral vectors expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) reporter genes. The stable knockdown of TRIM5α gene expression was confirmed by both real-time RT-PCR as well as Western blot. The lentiviral inducible shRNA vector was then transduced into the CMEFs infected with HIV Pseudo-virus. Results: We successfully designed and cloned three shRNAs targets into lentiviral vectors to knock down the TRIM5α gene expression. Further, transduction of the shRNAs into the pseudo-viral HIV infected CMEFs showed greater susceptibility to the infection. Conclusion: Here, for the first time, we successfully knocked down the TRIM5α gene using RNA interference (RNAi) technology and found TRIM5α-null CMEF cells to be susceptible to HIV pseudo-virus infection. Our research provides an important strategy for the establishment of shRNA based lentiviral vector system for gene knockdown in the cynomolgus monkey animal model against HIV infection.

Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (AMM), a member of the Leguminosae, is one of the most important medicinal plants worldwide. The dried roots of AMM have a wide range of pharmacological effects and are a traditional Chinese medicine. Here, we report the first chromosome-level reference genome of AMM, comprising nine pseudochromosomes with a total size of 1.47 Gb and 27 868 protein-encoding genes. Comparative genomic analysis reveals that AMM has not experienced an independent whole-genome duplication (WGD) event after the WGD event shared by the Papilionoideae species. Analysis of long terminal repeat retrotransposons suggests a recent burst of these elements at approximately 0.13 million years ago, which may explain the large size of the AMM genome. Multiple gene families involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoids and flavonoids were expanded, and our data indicate that tandem duplication has been the main driver for expansion of these families. Among the expanded families, the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase gene family was primarily expressed in the roots of AMM, suggesting their roles in the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid compounds. The functional versatility of 2,3-oxidosqualene cyclase genes in cluster III may play a critical role in the diversification of triterpenoids in AMM. Our findings provide novel insights into triterpenoid and flavonoid biosynthesis and can facilitate future research on the genetics and medical applications of AMM.

Seed morphology and quality of cultivated soybean (Glycine max) have changed dramatically during domestication from their wild relatives, but their relationship to selection is poorly understood. Here, we describe a semi-dominant locus, ST1 (Seed Thickness 1), affecting seed thickness and encoding a UDP-D-glucuronate 4-epimerase, which catalyses UDP-galacturonic acid production and promotes pectin biosynthesis. Interestingly, this morphological change concurrently boosted seed oil content, which, along with up-regulation of glycolysis biosynthesis modulated by ST1, enabled soybean to become a staple oil crop. Strikingly, ST1 and an inversion controlling seed coat colour formed part of a single selective sweep. Structural variation analysis of the region surrounding ST1 shows that the critical mutation in ST1 existed in earlier wild relatives of soybean and the region containing ST1 subsequently underwent an inversion, which was followed by successive selection for both traits through hitchhiking during selection for seed coat colour. Together, these results provide direct evidence that simultaneously variation for seed morphology and quality occurred earlier than variation for seed coat colour during soybean domestication. The identification of ST1 thus sheds light on a crucial phase of human empirical selection in soybeans and provides evidence that our ancestors improved soybean based on taste.

Soybean seed appearance quality greatly affects the marketability. The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control the appearance quality of soybean seeds. A total of 256 recombinant inbred lines from Qi Huang No.34 × Ji Dou No.17 were utilized for QTL mapping. We innovatively applied a machine vision system to quantify the seed appearance of each line. As a result of QTL mapping, a total of 145 QTLs for the machine vision parameters were detected across three environments. We integrated QTLs mapped overlapped and obtained 16 QTL hotspots in total. Of these hotspots, hotspot-4–1 was suggested to be a major locus controlling seed size, and hotspot-15 was identified to affect the seed color and texture. The mapping for principal components of the seed appearance also supported it. This study comprehensively dug up the QTLs for seed appearance quality of soybean cultivars while providing an efficient method for phenotyping of seed appearance. These results would contribute to dissecting the genetic bases of seed appearance quality for the improvement of soybean. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-021-01262-9.

Background The precancerous disease of breast cancer is an inevitable stage in the tumorigenesis and development of breast neoplasms. Quercetin (Que) has shown great potential in breast cancer treatment by inhibiting cell proliferation and regulating T cell function. γδ T cells are a class of nontraditional T cells that have long attracted attention due to their potential in immunotherapy. In this study, we revealed the immunomodulatory function of Que through regulation of the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway, which was followed by the synergistic killing of breast cancer cells. Methods In the experimental design, we first screened target genes with or without Que treatment, and we intersected the Que target with the disease target by functional enrichment analysis. Second, MCF-10A, MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines were treated with Que for 0 h, 24 h and 48 h. Then, we observed the expression of its subsets by coculturing Que and γδ T cells and coculturing Que and γδ T cells with breast tumor cells to investigate their synergistic killing effect on tumor cells. Finally, Western blotting was used to reveal the changes in proteins related to the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway after Que treatment in MCF-10AT and MCF-7 cells for 48 h. Results The pathway affected by Que treatment was the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and was associated with precancerous breast cancer, as shown by network pharmacology analysis. Que induced apoptosis of MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner (P 0.05). Most importantly, Que promoted the differentiation of γδ T cells into the Vδ2 T cell subpopulation. The best ratio of effector cells to target cells (E/T) was 10:1, the killing percentages of γδ T cells against MCF-10A, MCF-10AT, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 were 61.44 ± 4.70, 55.52 ± 3.10, 53.94 ± 2.74, and 53.28 ± 1.73 (P = 0.114, P = 0.486, and P = 0.343, respectively), and the strongest killing effect on precancerous breast cancer cells and breast cancer cells was found when the Que concentration was 5 μM and the E/T ratio was 10:1 (64.94 ± 3.61, 64.96 ± 5.45, 55.59 ± 5.98, and 59.04 ± 5.67, respectively). In addition, our results showed that Que increased the protein levels of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2 and p-STAT1 while decreasing the protein levels of PD-L1 (P 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, Que plays a synergistic role in killing breast cancer cells and promoting apoptosis by regulating the expression of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2, p-STAT1 and PD-L1 in the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and promoting the regulation of γδ T cells. Que may be a potential drug for the prevention of precancerous breast cancer and adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.

Because of its anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic properties, berberine has been used extensively in medication. The extensive production of berberine results in the generation of wastewater containing concentrated residual berberine. However, to date, limited related studies on the biological treatment of berberine wastewaters have been carried out. A lab-scale anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR)–aerobic granular sludge (AGS) process was developed for berberine removal from synthetic wastewater. The system showed effective removal of the berberine. In order to better understand the roles of the bacterial community, the ABR–aerobic granular sludge system was operated in the state with the highest BBR removal rate in this study. The bacterial community dynamics were studied using the 16S rDNA clone library. The results showed that the hybrid ABR-AGS process achieved 92.2% and 94.8% overall removals of berberine and COD, respectively. Bacterium was dominant species in ABR, while the CFB group bacteria and Betaproteobacteria were dominant species in AGS process. The uncultured bacterium clone B135, Bacillus endophyticus strain a125, uncultured bacterium mle1-42, uncultured bacterium clone OP10D15, and uncultured bacterium clone B21.29F54 in ABR, and uncultured bacterium clone F54, uncultured bacterium clone ZBAF1-105, uncultured bacterium clone SS-9, and uncultured bacterium clone B13 in AGS process were identified as functional species in the biodegradation of berberine and/or its metabolites. Both anaerobic and aerobic bacterial communities could adapt appropriately to different berberine selection pressures because the functional species’ identical functions ensured comparable pollutant removal performances. The information provided in this study may help with future research in gaining a better understanding of berberine biodegradation.

Background: The precancerous disease of breast cancer is an inevitable stage in the emergence and development of breast neoplasms. Breast cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor in female worldwide. A large number of literatures have proved that, as antitumor drugs, flavonoid compounds can promote proliferation and immune regulation of T cell. Many researchers believe that Quercetin (Que) has great potential in the field of anti-breast cancer. Besides that, γδ T cells are a class of non-traditional T cells, which have long attracted attention due to their potential in immunotherapy. Above all, JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway is closely related to the immunity.MethodsIn the experiment designed in this paper, we first used Que, one of the flavonoids, to screen the target gene. Then, MCF-10A, MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 BC cells were co-cultured with Que for 24h and 48h, apoptosis was found in some the cells. We then cultured Que with γδ T cells and found that Que can promote the proliferation of Vδ2 T cell subsets of γδ T cells, thus enhancing the killing effect of γδ T cells. Western blot was use to showed the change of JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway related proteins after the Que was co-cultured with MCF-10AT and MCF-7 for 48h.ResultsNetwork pharmacology has shown that Que related pathways include the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and are associated with precancerous breast cancers. Que induced apoptosis of MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 in a time and concentration-dependent manner. Most importantly, Que can promote the differentiation of γδ T cells into the Vδ2 T cell subpopulation, this means that Que and γδ T cells may play a synergistic role in killing tumor cells and cellular immune regulation. In addition, our results showed that Que can increase in protein levels of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2 and p-STAT1, while the concomitant decrease protein levels of PD-L1.ConclusionsIn conclusion, Que plays a synergistic role in killing BC cells and promoting apoptosis by regulating the expression of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2, p-STAT1, and PD-L1 in the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and promoting the regulation of γδ T cells. Que may be a potential drug for the prevention of precancerous breast cancer and adjuvant treatment of BC.

Mode structures and excitation conditions for the low-frequency modes (LFMs) have been investigated in experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) plasmas with q min ⩽ 2. Two different stages/categories of the LFM instabilities are observed during the oscillation of annular/central collapse events: (I) the upward sweeping frequency of LFMs; (II) the upward frequency jumpsof LFMs. The annular/central events are triggered by the m/n = 2/1 double tearing modes with different q-profiles, while the LFMs are characterized by higher mode numbers m/n = 4/2, 6/3, …, where m and n are the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers, respectively. The maximum radial coverage of the LFMs is located in the annular region of 1.97 ⩽ R ⩽ 2.07 m with the normalized minor radius 0.2 ⩽ ρ ⩽ 0.4, while the higher-frequency (or upward sweeping frequency) branch is more localized to the radial position of 2 ⩽ R ⩽ 2.02 m (q min). The frequency characteristics of upward sweeps or upward jumps of the LFMs are mainly attributed to the change in the q-profile, e.g. the upward sweeping frequency in stage I is caused by q min decreasing. Accordingly, the linear wave properties of LFMs in EAST with weak/reversed magnetic shear are studied numerically and analytically based on a general fishbone-like dispersion relation. Without considering the contribution of energetic ions, it is shown that the LFM with Alfvénic polarization is an MHD-unstable kinetic ballooning mode with frequency of the order of the ion diamagnetic drift frequency. Several important factors for the excitation of LFM instability are analyzed: (1) the role of energetic ions is unimportant, and the LFMs can be excited under the two conditions of with/without energetic ions; (2) the higher τ = T e/T i with larger η i = L ni /L Ti are required, namely the normalized pressure gradient α ∝ (1 + τ)(1 + η i) should be large enough to overcome the stability effect of finite field line bending; (3) the weak/reversed shear q-profile with q min ⩽ 2 and suitable S ≡ (r/q)(q″)1/2 are required.

Background: immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for solid tumors had significantly improved overall survival (OS). Positive response to PD-1/PD-L1 blockades was observed in the treatment of solidtumors. Breast cancer (BC) patients are no exception. However, the efficacy of immunocheckpoint therapy in BC patients remains poor. A particularly important factor is the lack of studies on the expression patterns of immune checkpoints in BC patients. Method: in this study, the microarray dataset GSE10810 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Database Synthesis (GEO) to analyze the differential expression of BC genes and perform GO and KEGG analysis. Then, we explored theprognostic value of ICs for BC patients by analyzing RNA-seq and mutation data from 657 BC patients from theCancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Next, we analyzed the differences in the expression of relevant immune checkpoints between 1085 BC patients and 291 healthy controls (HC) in the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. Finally, we analyzed the expression levels of IFNγ-R, PD-L1, STAT1, IDO and other genes in MCF-10A, MF-10AT, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 cell lines.Results: It was found that increased expression of PD-1, PD-L1, STAT1, CTLA-4 was associated with poor OS in BC patients. In addition, co-expression of PD-L1 with PD-1, STAT1or CTLA-4 and co-expression of PD-1 with CTLA-4was related to poor OS. We analyzed associations between the proportionate expression of PD-L1 and PD-1, PD-L1 and STAT1, PD-1 and CTLA-4, PD-1 and LAG3, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 in BC patients, there was significance in correlation in both of the BC patients.The expression of STAT1 in BC patients was compared with that of HC, and it was found that STAT1 was highly expressed in BC patients. Conclusions: our results suggest that transcriptome-based co-expression of STAT1 and PD-L1 is a predictor for poor OS in BC patients, which might provide novel insight into designing combinational targeted therapy for BC.

The linear wave properties of the low-frequency Alfvén modes (LFAMs) observed in the DIII-D tokamak experiments with reversed magnetic shear (Heidbrink et al 2021 Nucl. Fusion 61 016029) are theoretically studied and delineated based on the general fishbone-like dispersion relation. By adopting representative experimental equilibrium parameters, it is found that, in the absence of energetic ions, the LFAM is a reactive-type kinetic ballooning mode instability with a dominant Alfvénic polarization. More specifically, due to diamagnetic and trapped particle effects, the LFAM can be coupled with the beta-induced Alfvén-acoustic mode in the low-frequency region (frequency much less than the thermal-ion transit and/or bounce frequency) or with the beta-induced Alfvén eigenmode in the high-frequency region (frequency higher than or comparable to the thermal-ion transit frequency), resulting in reactive-type instabilities. Moreover, the ‘Christmas light’ and ‘mountain peak’ spectral patterns of LFAMs as well as the dependence of instability drive on the electron temperature observed in the experiments can be theoretically interpreted by varying the relevant physical parameters. Conditions for when dissipative-type instabilities may set in are also discussed.

Membrane voltage is an important biophysical signal that underlies intercellular electrical communications. A fluorescent voltage indicator is presented that enables the investigation of electrical signaling at high spatial resolution. The method is built upon the site-specific modification of microbial rhodopsin proteins with organic fluorophores, resulting in a hybrid indicator scaffold that is one of the most sensitive and fastest orange-colored voltage indicators developed to date. We applied this technique to optically map electrical connectivity in cultured cells, which revealed gap junction-mediated long-range coupling that spanned over hundreds of micrometers.

Additional file 3: Figure S2. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the candidate genes of the RpsGZ locus. AgriGO (http://bioinfo.cau.edu.cn/agriGO/) was used to analyse the candidate genes of the RpsGZ locus, and significantly enriched GO categories under molecular functions are shown in orange and yellow boxes.

Additional file 2: Figure S1. Twenty linkage groups of the soybean high-density genetic map. A high-density bin linkage map was constructed, covering 3032 cM, with an average distance of 0.81 cM between adjacent bins. The bin markers and their locations are shown on the right and left sides, respectively.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the candidate genes. Table S2. The biological process and molecular function ontology of the candidate genes. Table S3. Primers of the candidate genes for real-time PCR.

The rise of UAV has made UAV play a major role in various industries, especially in place of manpower to solve difficult problems such as complex terrain detection and on-site monitoring in disaster areas. The pictures taken by the UAV are spliced to realize the global display of the scene, which is convenient for analysis and research. The integrity and clarity of image stitching depends on the performance of the stitching algorithm. The key to image registration and stitching is the extraction and matching of feature points. The article compares and analyzes the traditional three feature point (key-point) extraction algorithms. The article summarizes their advantages and disadvantages and scope of application. In this paper, SIFT, SURF and ORB algorithms were used respectively to extract feature points from the two images. Then, the nearest neighbor matching method was used to select the optimal matching points to remove the pseudo-matching points and improve the matching accuracy. After image registration, the composite image is prone to splicing gaps and brightness differences due to error accumulation, color differences, and the like. Therefore, in order to make the final panoramic image better, it is more necessary to perform image fusion after image registration processing, correct the difference, and eliminate the stitching gap. In this paper, the improved ORB algorithm combined with the weighted average fusion algorithm is used to achieve smooth transition of the two images. The improved algorithm time is reduced and the efficiency is significantly improved. The experimental results also show that the weighted average algorithm has high effectiveness and practicability in image fusion.

Multiple broadband Alfvénic chirping modes (CMs), with frequencies in the wide range of f ∼ 35–150 kHz and chirping down rapidly, are found in HL-2A neutral beam injection plasmas, and the CMs can even coexist. The frequency chirping down process can be completed within ∼1 ms, and the frequency shift can reach 30–50 kHz. The CMs propagate in ion diamagnetic drift directions poloidally. The toroidal mode number is confirmed to be n = 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the f ∼ 35–65, 55–90, 70–120 and 100–150 kHz CMs, respectively. The CMs are more like to be energetic-particle continuum modes (EPMs), since the modes almost locate on the Alfvén continuum.

Theoretical and numerical studies of the two-dimensional (2D) global stability and mode structures of high-n beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes excited by magnetically trapped energetic electrons in tokamaks are carried out by employing the WKB-ballooning mode representation along with the generalized fishbone-like dispersion relation. Depending on parameter regimes, it is found that (i) the mode growth rate has a maximum with increasing energetic electron density at the ground radial eigenstate; (ii) the ground and excited radial eigenstates can be unstable simultaneously, and the most unstable mode is related not only to the pressure gradient of energetic electrons, but also to the width of the mode itself; (iii) the corresponding 2D mode structures are twisted due to the anti-Hermitian contribution from wave-energetic electron interaction and show opposite deformation directions compared with that in the presence of energetic ions; and (iv) the mode structures, especially, the mode width and its radial asymmetry, can be affected by radial eigen-mode number, energetic electron density, and magnetic shear. Finally, the radial symmetry breaking of the localized e-BAE mode structure with respect to parallel wave-number has a potential impact on toroidal momentum transport.

The Mendelian locus conferring resistance to powdery mildew in soybean was precisely mapped using a combination of phenotypic screening, genetic analyses, and high-throughput genome-wide sequencing. Powdery mildew (PMD), caused by the fungus Microsphaera diffusa Cooke & Peck, leads to considerable yield losses in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] under favourable environmental conditions and can be controlled by identifying germplasm resources with resistance genes. In this study, resistance to M. diffusa among resistant varieties B3, Fudou234, and B13 is mapped as a single Mendelian locus using three mapping populations derived from crossing susceptible with resistant cultivars. The position of the PMD resistance locus in B3 is located between simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers GMES6959 and Satt_393 on chromosome 16, at genetic distances of 7.1 cM and 4.6 cM, respectively. To more finely map the PMD resistance gene, a high-density genetic map was constructed using 248 F8 recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross of Guizao1 × B13. The final map includes 3748 bins and is 3031.9 cM in length, with an average distance of 0.81 cM between adjacent markers. This genotypic analysis resulted in the precise delineation of the B13 PMD resistance locus to a 188.06-kb genomic region on chromosome 16 that harbours 28 genes, including 17 disease resistance (R)-like genes in the reference Williams 82 genome. Quantitative real-time PCR assays of possible candidate genes revealed differences in the expression levels of 9 R-like genes between the resistant and susceptible parents. These results provide useful information for marker-assisted breeding and gene cloning for PMD resistance.

Light-induced preferential migration of electrons and holes to the minor (200) and (020) facets and the dominant (002) facets of square-like WO3, respectively, resulted in the square-like WO3 nanoplates with Pt loaded mainly on dominant (002) facets shows higher photocatalytic activity than that Pt loaded on the minor facets.

China has a large population, and its climate and the wide distribution of the mosquito vectors in south China are high risk factors for RVF outbreak. More importantly, once RVFV is introduced into permissive ecologies, it can become endemic, with the potential to spread into other non-endemic regions (Murithi et al., 2011). If there is an RVF outbreak in China, the disease may spread quickly to Southeast Asia and to other countries in Asia. Combined with the import of the Zika and yellow fever viruses this year (Su et al., 2016a; Wang L. et al., 2016), importation of arboviral pathogens poses a huge challenge for China. Therefore, all necessary measures should be taken to prevent and control RVF import and spread in China in the future.