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Abstract Cations such as K+ play a key part in the CO2 electroreduction reaction, but their role in the reaction mechanism is still in debate. Here, we use a highly symmetric Ni-N4 structure to selectively probe the mechanistic influence of K+ and identify its interaction with chemisorbed CO2 −. Our electrochemical kinetics study finds a shift in the rate-determining step in the presence of K+. Spectral evidence of chemisorbed CO2 − from in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and in-situ Raman spectroscopy pinpoints the origin of this rate-determining step shift. Grand canonical potential kinetics simulations - consistent with experimental results - further complement these findings. We thereby identify a long proposed non-covalent interaction between K+ and chemisorbed CO2 −. This interaction stabilizes chemisorbed CO2 − and thus switches the rate-determining step from concerted proton electron transfer to independent proton transfer. Consequently, this rate-determining step shift lowers the reaction barrier by eliminating the contribution of the electron transfer step. This K+-determined reaction pathway enables a lower energy barrier for CO2 electroreduction reaction than the competing hydrogen evolution reaction, leading to an exclusive selectivity for CO2 electroreduction reaction.

Abstract Background and purpose Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a significant complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that lacks effective treatment options. This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic mechanism by which resveratrol attenuates rheumatoid arthritis complicated with interstitial lung disease through the AKT/TMEM175 pathway. Methods We established an arthritis model by combining chicken type II collagen and complete Freund’s adjuvant. Resveratrol treatment was administered via tube feeding for 10 days. Pathological changes in both the joints and lungs were evaluated using HE and Masson staining techniques. Protein expression of TGF-β1, AKT, and TMEM175 was examined in lung tissue. MRC-5 cells were stimulated using IL-1β in combination with TGF-β1 as an in vitro model of RA-ILD, and agonists of AKT, metabolic inhibitors, and SiRNA of TMEM175 were used to explore the regulation and mechanism of action of resveratrol RA-ILD. Results Resveratrol mitigates fibrosis in rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease and reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in RA-ILD. Furthermore, resveratrol restored cellular autophagy. When combined with the in vitro model, it was further demonstrated that resveratrol could suppress TGF-β1 expression, and reduce AKT metamorphic activation, consequently inhibiting the opening of AKT/MEM175 ion channels. This, in turn, lowers lysosomal pH and enhances the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes, ultimately ameliorating the progression of RA-ILD. Conclusion In this study, we demonstrated that resveratrol restores autophagic flux through the AKT/MEM175 pathway to attenuate inflammation as well as fibrosis in RA-ILD by combining in vivo and in vitro experiments. It further provides a theoretical basis for the selection of therapeutic targets for RA-ILD. Graphical Abstract

Abstract In-depth comprehension and modulation of the electronic structure of the active metal sites is crucial to enhance their intrinsic activity of electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) toward anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs). Here, we elaborate a series of amorphous metal oxide catalysts (FeCrOx, CoCrOx and NiCrOx) with high performance AEMWEs by high-valent chromium dopant. We discover that the positive effect of the transition from low to high valence of the Co site on the adsorption energy of the intermediate and the lower oxidation barrier is the key factor for its increased activity by synchrotron radiation in-situ techniques. Particularly, the CoCrOx anode catalyst achieves the high current density of 1.5 A cm−2 at 2.1 V and maintains for over 120 h with attenuation less than 4.9 mV h−1 in AEMWE testing. Such exceptional performance demonstrates a promising prospect for industrial application and providing general guidelines for the design of high-efficiency AEMWEs systems.

One of the most prominent causes of alopecia areata (AA) is chronic inflammation of the hair follicles. Inhibiting cellular pyroptosis, a form of inflammatory programmed cell death, is crucial for reducing follicular inflammation in the skin. Total glucosides of paeony (TGP) possess anti-inflammatory properties across a broad range of illnesses. However, the role of TGP in AA and its relationship to pyroptosis remains unclear. A chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) approach was used to create an AA mouse model. TGP suspension and MCC950 were administered to AA mice via gavage. HE staining, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting were performed to detect pathological changes in the skin and to investigate the levels of inflammatory factors and pyroptosis-related proteins, as well as the potential mechanisms of TGP's effects. TGP reduced hair loss, increased the number of hair follicles in skin tissues, and decreased inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-18, and IL-1β) in AA mice. MCC950 significantly reduced the levels of NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis-related proteins (NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1 p10, and GSDMD-N), as well as inflammatory factors. TGP markedly inhibited NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated cellular pyroptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. TGP suppresses the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling cascade in the skin tissues of AA mice, thereby reducing cellular pyroptosis and inflammation. TGP may be a potential therapeutic agent for AA.

Abstract Background Obesity is associated with extensive white adipose tissue (WAT) expansion and remodeling. Healthy WAT expansion contributes to the maintenance of energy balance in the liver, thereby ameliorating obesity-related hepatic steatosis. Tissue-resident mesenchymal stromal cell populations, including PDGFRβ + perivascular cells, are increasingly recognized pivotal as determinants of the manner in which WAT expands. However, the full array of regulatory factors controlling WAT stromal cell functions remains to be fully elucidated. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are critical regulators in WAT stromal cell populations such as adipocyte precursor cells (APCs). It is revealed that HIF1α activation within PDGFRβ + stromal cells results in the suppression of de novo adipogenesis and the promotion of a pro-fibrogenic cellular program in obese animals. However, the role of HIF2α in PDGFRβ + cells remains undetermined in vivo. Methods New genetic models were employed in which HIF1α (encoded by the Hif1a gene) and HIF2α (encoded by the Epas1 gene) are selectively inactivated in PDGFRβ + cells in an inducible manner using tamoxifen (TAM). With these models, both in vitro and in vivo functional analysis of PDGFRβ + cells lacking HIF proteins were performed. Additionally, comprehensive metabolic phenotyping in diet-induced mouse models were performed to investigate the roles of PDGFRβ + cell HIF proteins in WAT remodeling, liver energy balance and systemic metabolism. Results Unlike HIF1α inactivation, the new findings in this study suggest that inducible ablation of HIF2α in PDGFRβ + cells does not cause apparent effects on WAT expansion induced by obesogenic diet. The adipogenic ability of PDGFRβ + APCs is not significantly altered by genetic HIF2α ablation. Moreover, no difference of key parameters associated with healthy WAT remodeling such as improvements of WAT insulin sensitivity, reduction in metabolic inflammation, as well as changes in liver fat accumulation or systemic glucose metabolism, is detected in PDGFRβ + cell Epas1-deficient mice. Conclusion The new findings in this study support that, in contrast to HIF1α, PDGFRβ + cell HIF2α appears dispensable for WAT metabolic remodeling and the resulting effects on liver metabolic homeostasis in diet-induced obesity, underscoring the isoform-specific roles of HIFα proteins in the regulation of adipose tissue biology.

Abstract Stimulus-induced conflicts in decision-making tasks produce both behavioral and neuronal congruency effects. However, how and when conflicts are detected and resolved at the neuronal level remains largely unclear. To address these issues, we recorded from single neurons in the frontal eye fields of two macaques performing a conflict task. Although the temporal dynamics of the neuronal congruency effects are independent of the specific task rules, they are substantially different in target- and distractor-encoding neurons. Conflicts were detected ~100 ms after the conflict-inducing cue (20–30 ms after the visual response), which is much faster than predicted based on human EEG results. This suggests that conflict detection relies on a fast mechanism in frontal eye fields. Resolving the conflict at the neuronal level, however, requires between

Based on the previous study of the heat-treated wood at 0-3 mm surface layer, this study focuses on the transition of thermal modification intensity on 160-220 °C heat-treated poplar from surface to core layers. The color change was evaluated by CIELAB, and surface hardness was detected via Shore D (HD) and pressing ball method (HR); furthermore, the FT-IR was applied to detect the thermal degradation of wood components. The results show that the degradation of cell wall components in the surface layer of heat-treated poplar wood is greater than that in the core layers, and the thermal degradation intensity of the surface layer of the heat-treated poplar wood is greater than that of the other inner layers. Surface color and hardness properties of the heat-treated wood between S0 and S1-S5 test surfaces were significantly different under the same heat treatment conditions; the surface hardness showed an increasing trend, and the HR value of the H220-2 core layer was 105.71 % higher than that of the surface layer. Heat treatment temperature is the main factor affecting the property of wood surface, while the effect of duration is smaller. The hemicellulose content change was mainly related to the degradation intensity on heattreated wood at different locations. An accurate prediction model of surface color, hardness, and other properties of the heat-treated wood at different locations was established by Table Curve 3D software.

BackgroundBreast cancer (BC) exhibits a high incidence rate, imposing a substantial burden on healthcare systems. Novel drug targets are urgently needed for BC. Mendelian randomization (MR) has gained widespread application for identifying fresh therapeutic targets. Our endeavor was to pinpoint circulatory proteins causally linked to BC risk and proffer potential treatment targets for BC.MethodsThrough amalgamating protein quantitative trait loci from 2,004 circulating proteins and comprehensive genome-wide association study data from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium, we conducted MR analyses. Employing Steiger filtering, bidirectional MR, Bayesian colocalization, phenotype scanning, and replication analyses, we further solidified MR study outcomes. Additionally, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was harnessed to unveil latent associations between proteins and prevailing breast cancer medications. The phenome-wide MR (Phe-MR) was employed to assess potential side effects and indications for the druggable proteins of BC. Finally, we further affirmed the drugability of potential drug targets through mRNA expression analysis and molecular docking.ResultsThrough comprehensive analysis, we identified five potential drug targets, comprising four (TLR1, A4GALT, SNUPN, and CTSF) for BC and one (TLR1) for BC_estrogen receptor positive. None of these five potential drug targets displayed reverse causation. Bayesian colocalization suggested that these five latent drug targets shared variability with breast cancer. All drug targets were replicated within the deCODE cohort. TLR1 exhibited PPI with current breast cancer therapeutic targets. Furthermore, Phe-MR unveiled certain adverse effects solely for TLR1 and SNUPN.ConclusionOur study uncovers five prospective drug targets for BC and its subtypes, warranting further clinical exploration.

BackgroundGut microbiota has been associated with dermatological problems in earlier observational studies. However, it is unclear whether gut microbiota has a causal function in dermatological diseases.MethodsThirteen dermatological diseases were the subject of bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) research aimed at identifying potential causal links between gut microbiota and these diseases. Summary statistics for the Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) of gut microbiota and dermatological diseases were obtained from public datasets. With the goal of evaluating the causal estimates, five acknowledged MR approaches were utilized along with multiple testing corrections, with inverse variance weighted (IVW) regression serving as the main methodology. Regarding the taxa that were causally linked with dermatological diseases in the forward MR analysis, reverse MR was performed. A series of sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the causal estimates.ResultsThe combined results of the five MR methods and sensitivity analysis showed 94 suggestive and five significant causal relationships. In particular, the genus Eubacterium_fissicatena_group increased the risk of developing psoriasis vulgaris (odds ratio [OR] = 1.32, pFDR = 4.36 × 10−3), family Bacteroidaceae (OR = 2.25, pFDR = 4.39 × 10−3), genus Allisonella (OR = 1.42, pFDR = 1.29 × 10−2), and genus Bacteroides (OR = 2.25, pFDR = 1.29 × 10−2) increased the risk of developing acne; and the genus Intestinibacter increased the risk of urticaria (OR = 1.30, pFDR = 9.13 × 10−3). A reverse MR study revealed insufficient evidence for a significant causal relationship. In addition, there was no discernible horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity.ConclusionThis study provides novel insights into the causality of gut microbiota in dermatological diseases and therapeutic or preventive paradigms for cutaneous conditions.

Abstracts Background Long-stranded non-coding RNA TUG1 is lowly expressed in osteoarthritic chondrocytes. This study aimed to elucidate the role of TUG1 in osteoarthritic cartilage damage and the underlying mechanisms. Methods Combined database analysis, using primary chondrocytes as well as the C28/I2 cell line, was performed by qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence to determine the expression of TUG1, miR-144-3p, DUSP1, and other target proteins. Dual luciferase reporter gene and RIP to verify direct interaction of TUG1 with miR-144–3-p and miR-144–3-p with DUSP1, Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining to detect apoptosis. CCK-8 to detect cell proliferation. The biological significance of TUG1, miR-144-3p, and DUSP1 was assessed in vitro experiments using siRNA for TUG1, mimic and repressor for miR-144-3p, and overexpression plasmid for DUSP1. In this study, all data were subjected to a t-test or one-way analysis of variance with a p-value

Abstract Many eukaryotic transcription factors (TF) form homodimer or heterodimer complexes to regulate gene expression. Dimerization of BASIC LEUCINE ZIPPER (bZIP) TFs are critical for their functions, but the molecular mechanism underlying the DNA binding and functional specificity of homo- versus heterodimers remains elusive. To address this gap, we present the double DNA Affinity Purification-sequencing (dDAP-seq) technique that maps heterodimer binding sites on endogenous genomic DNA. Using dDAP-seq we profile twenty pairs of C/S1 bZIP heterodimers and S1 homodimers in Arabidopsis and show that heterodimerization significantly expands the DNA binding preferences of these TFs. Analysis of dDAP-seq binding sites reveals the function of bZIP9 in abscisic acid response and the role of bZIP53 heterodimer-specific binding in seed maturation. The C/S1 heterodimers show distinct preferences for the ACGT elements recognized by plant bZIPs and motifs resembling the yeast GCN4 cis-elements. This study demonstrates the potential of dDAP-seq in deciphering the DNA binding specificities of interacting TFs that are key for combinatorial gene regulation.

Background Osteoporotic fractures (OFs) are a significant public health issue, which can lead to pain and impaired mobility. The underlying mechanisms of OFs remain unclear, but recent studies have suggested that the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA pathway may play a crucial role. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the potential involvement of the circHIPK3/miR-378a-3p/HDAC4 pathway in the pathogenesis of OFs. Methods We collected tissue and serum samples from 10 patients with OFs and 10 healthy controls. The expression levels of circHIPK3, miR-378a-3p, and HDAC4 were measured by qPCR and WB. Additionally, we quantified the serum levels of bone metabolism-related indicators (ALP, OC, TRAP, OCIF, ODF) using ELISA. Results Our results revealed significant upregulation of circHIPK3 and HDAC4 in both tissue and serum samples from OF patients compared with controls. Simultaneously, we detected a lower expression level of miR-378a-3p in OF tissues and serum than that in the control group. Furthermore, the serum levels of bone metabolism-related indicators ALP, TRAP, OCIF, and ODF were significantly higher in OF patients than in the control group. Interestingly, the serum level of OCIF was lower in OF patients than in the control group. Conclusion Our study provides important evidence for the involvement of the circHIPK3/miR-378a-3p/HDAC4 pathway in the pathogenesis of OFs. The upregulation of circHIPK3 and HDAC4 and downregulation of miR-378a-3p observed in OF patients suggests their potential regulatory effects on bone metabolism. Meanwhile, abnormal expression of serum bone metabolism-related indicators may contribute to the development of OFs by disrupting the balance of bone remodeling.

Abstract The Salicaceae family is of growing interest in the study of dioecy in plants because the sex determination region (SDR) has been shown to be highly dynamic, with differing locations and heterogametic systems between species. Without the ability to transform and regenerate Salix in tissue culture, previous studies investigating the mechanisms regulating sex in the genus Salix have been limited to genome resequencing and differential gene expression, which are mostly descriptive in nature, and functional validation of candidate sex determination genes has not yet been conducted. Here, we used Arabidopsis to functionally characterize a suite of previously identified candidate genes involved in sex determination and sex dimorphism in the bioenergy shrub willow Salix purpurea. Six candidate master regulator genes for sex determination were heterologously expressed in Arabidopsis, followed by floral proteome analysis. In addition, 11 transcription factors with predicted roles in mediating sex dimorphism downstream of the SDR were tested using DAP‐Seq in both male and female S. purpurea DNA. The results of this study provide further evidence to support models for the roles of ARR17 and GATA15 as master regulator genes of sex determination in S. purpurea, contributing to a regulatory system that is notably different from that of its sister genus Populus. Evidence was also obtained for the roles of two transcription factors, an AP2/ERF family gene and a homeodomain‐like transcription factor, in downstream regulation of sex dimorphism.

Solar-driven hydrogen evolution coupled with organic synthesis is important but challenging. Here, the authors report an in-situ oxygen impregnation strategy to build a ruthenium-based amorphous hybrid-mixture with abundant atomic interfaces and show efficient hydrogen evolution with small molecule oxidation.

Wood heat treatment is an environmentally friendly method, and the heat-treated wood properties are closely related to thermal modification intensity. This study focuses on the 0-3 mm surface layer (SL) of poplar wood heat treated at 160~220 °C. The modification intensity, including surface color, hardness, chemical component and morphological changes of the SL, was evaluated. The findings of this research showed that the color difference of the poplar wood before and after heat treatment (ΔE*1) increased; the color difference between up-surface and down-surface of the SL (ΔE*2) also increased with the treatment temperature. Consequently, the surface hardness (HR) decreased with the increase of treatment intensity. When the treatment temperature was higher than 160 °C, the up-surface and down-surface of the SL were statistically different in color. Chemical component analysis revealed that the heat treatment degrades wood components, especially the hemicellulose, and correlation analysis showed a significant correlation between the change rate of hemicellulose and the ΔE*1 or HR value; the prediction functions have been established at a high confidence level of 0.99. Overall, the thermal modification intensity of the heat-treated surface layer (SL) of poplar wood varies, and the HR and ΔE*1 value could be used to characterize and predict the modification intensity and degree of thermal degradation of the surface layer of heat-treated poplar wood.

Objective: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease that is not easily detectable in the early stage. This study proposed an efficient method of applying a graph convolutional network (GCN) on the early prediction of AD. Methods: We proposed a univariate neurodegeneration biomarker (UNB) based GCN semi-supervised classification framework. We generated UNB by comparing the similarity of individual morphological atrophy pattern and the atrophy pattern of $\text{A}\beta +$ AD group according to the brain morphological abnormalities induced by AD. For the GCN semi-supervised classification model, we took the UNBs of individuals as the features of nodes and constructed the weight of edges according to the similarity of phenotypic information between individuals, which explored the essential features of individuals through spectral graph convolution. The attention module was constructed and embedded into the GCN framework, which may refine the input morphological features to highlight the main impact of AD on the cerebral cortex and weaken the instability caused by individual diversities, thereby identifying the significant ROIs affected by AD and improving the classification accuracy. Results: We tested the UNB-GCN framework on the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. The estimated minimum sample sizes were 156, 349 and 423 for the longitudinal $\text{A}\beta +$ AD, $\text{A}\beta +$ mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and $\text{A}\beta +$ cognitively unimpaired (CU) groups, respectively. And the proposed UNB-GCN framework combined with the attention module can effectively improve the classification performance with 93.90% classification accuracy for AD vs. CU and 82.05% for AD vs. MCI on the validation set. Conclusion: The proposed UNB measures were superior to the conventional volume measures in describing the AD-induced cerebral cortex morphological changes. And the UNB-GCN framework combined with attention module may effectively improve the classification performance between MCI subjects and AD patients. Clinical and Translational Impact Statement: This study aims to predict the early AD patients, so as to help clinicians develop effective interventions to delay the deterioration of AD symptoms.

Abstract Recently, matrix factorization-based hashing has gained wide attention because of its strong subspace learning ability and high search efficiency. However, some problems need to be further addressed. First, uniform hash codes can be generated by collective matrix factorization, but they often cause serious loss, degrading the quality of hash codes. Second, most of them preserve the absolute similarity simply in hash codes, failing to capture the inherent semantic affinity among training data. To overcome these obstacles, we propose a Discrete Multi-similarity Consistent Matrix Factorization Hashing (DMCMFH). Specifically, an individual subspace is first learned by matrix factorization and multi-similarity consistency for each modality. Then, the subspaces are aligned by a shared semantic space to generate homogenous hash codes. Finally, an iterative-based discrete optimization scheme is presented to reduce the quantization loss. We conduct quantitative experiments on three datasets, MSCOCO, Mirflickr25K and NUS-WIDE. Compared with supervised baseline methods, DMCMFH achieves increases of $$0.22\%$$ 0.22 % , $$3.00\%$$ 3.00 % and $$0.79\%$$ 0.79 % on the image-query-text tasks for three datasets respectively, and achieves increases of $$0.21\%$$ 0.21 % , $$1.62\%$$ 1.62 % and $$0.50\%$$ 0.50 % on the text-query-image tasks for three datasets respectively.

Stimulus-induced conflicts impair behavior in conflict tasks resulting in a phenomenon known as the behavioral congruency effect. Here, the authors investigate the neural underpinnings of this phenomenon and report a neuronal congruency effect in macaque prefrontal cortex to explain this impairment.

Abstract The multi-hole probe can measure the velocity and three-dimensional direction of the flow field at the same time, so it is often used to measure the three-dimensional flow field. Compared with other flow field measuring instruments, the multi-hole probe has stronger environmental adaptability and stability, and can better measure the three-dimensional flow field of the middle atmosphere. Therefore, a hemispherical 7-hole probe was designed, a pressure–velocity parameterized equation was established based on the theory of flow around a sphere, and a new calibration method was developed based on this. The calibration is carried out in a subsonic low speed wind tunnel, multiple combinations of flow parameters (inflow velocity and flow angles) are adjusted during the calibration. The results are compared with the numerical simulation results, both are quite close, with a speed measurement deviation of less than 5% and an angle measurement deviation of less than 1°. Our results establish the practicality of the hemispherical 7-hole probe and the simplified calibration procedure, both of which improve calibration efficiency and lower probe calibration costs.

Summary: Which neuronal signal(s) predict reaction times when subjects respond to a target at covertly attended locations? Although recent studies showed that spike rates are not predictive, it remains a highly contested question. Therefore, we record single-unit activity from frontal eye field (FEF) neurons while macaques are performing a covert spatial attention task. We find that the attentional modulation of spike rates of FEF neurons is strongly correlated with behavioral reaction times. Moreover, this correlation already emerges 1 s before target dimming, which triggers the behavioral responses. This prediction of reaction times by spike rates is found in neurons showing attention-dependent enhanced and suppressed activity for targets and distractors, respectively, yet in varying degrees across subjects. Thus, spike rates of FEF neurons can predict reaction times persistently and well before the operant behavior during selective attention tasks. Such long prediction windows will be useful for developing spike-based brain-machine interfaces.

ABSTRACTLeveraging advances in shape memory alloys (SMAs) and flexible thermoelectric devices (f-TEDs), this paper presents a structural and functional integrity composite sheet to address the inefficient and bulky activation of 2-D SMAs. A series of experimental tests were performed to reveal the generation, change, and transfer mechanisms of different types of electrically-induced heat in the f-TED, as well as the temperature-induced SMA phase transformation behaviors. The results show that the composite sheet exhibited good bidirectional thermal management capacity. The austenite deformation can be completed within 10s at an operating current of 2 A. The cooling recovery, in particular, performs much better than in conventional modes (the temperature declines exponentially with time). Finally, through two functional prototypes, a light switch and a flexible gripper, the application potential of the proposed composite was further experimentally demonstrated.

BackgroundAvailable treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common human malignancy with a low survival rate, remain unsatisfactory. Macropinocytosis (MPC), a type of endocytosis that involves the non-specific uptake of dissolved molecules, has been shown to contribute to HCC pathology; however, its biological mechanism remains unknown.MethodsThe current study identified 27 macropinocytosis-related genes (MRGs) from 71 candidate genes using bioinformatics. The R software was used to create a prognostic signature model by filtering standardized mRNA expression data from HCC patients and using various methods to verify the reliability of the model and indicate immune activity.ResultsThe prognostic signature was constructed using seven MPC-related differentially expressed genes, GSK3B, AXIN1, RAC1, KEAP1, EHD1, GRB2, and SNX5, through LASSO Cox regression. The risk score was acquired from the expression of these genes and their corresponding coefficients. HCC patients in the discovery and validation cohorts were stratified, and the survival of low-risk score patients was improved in both cohorts. Time-dependent ROC analysis indicated that the model’s prediction reliability was the highest in the short term. Subsequent immunologic analysis, including KEGG, located the immune action pathway of the differentially expressed genes in the direction of the cancer pathway, etc. Immune infiltration and immune checkpoint tests provided valuable guidance for future follow-up experiments.ConclusionA risk model with MRGs was constructed to effectively predict HCC patient prognoses and suggest changes in the immune microenvironment during the disease process. The findings should benefit the development of a prognostic stratification and treatment strategy for HCC.

A large subset of elders is classified as having sarcopenic obesity, a prevalence of obesity in combination with sarcopenia which places an aging population at the risk of adverse health consequences from both conditions. However, its complex etiology has restrained the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Recent progress has highlighted that the mode by which adipose tissue (AT) remodels is a determinant of metabolic health in the context of obesity. Healthy AT remodeling confers metabolic protection including insulin-sensitizing and anti-inflammatory effects to non-adipose tissues including skeletal muscle. Here, we employed a doxycycline-inducible adipocyte Hif1a knockout system to evaluate the muscle-protective effects associated with HIF1α inactivation-induced healthy AT remodeling in a model of sarcopenic obesity. We found that adipocyte HIF1α inactivation leads to improved AT metabolic health, reduced serum levels of lipids and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increase of circulating adipokine (APN) in ovariectomized obese mice fed with obesogenic high-fat diet (HFD). Concomitantly, muscle inflammation is evidently lower in obese OVX mice when adipocyte HIF1α is inactivated. Furthermore, these protective effects against muscle inflammation can be mimicked by the administration of adiponectin receptor agonist AdipoRon. Collectively, our findings underscore the importance of AT metabolic health in the context of concurrent sarcopenia and obesity, and promotion of healthy AT remodeling may represent a new therapeutic strategy to improve muscle health in sarcopenic obesity.

BackgroundThe optimal type of anesthesia for acute vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBAO) remains controversial. We aimed to assess the influence of anesthetic management on the outcomes in VBAO patients received endovascular treatment (EVT).MethodsPatients underwent EVT for acute VBAO at 21 stroke centers in China were retrospectively enrolled and compared between the general anesthesia (GA) group and non-GA group. The primary outcome was the favorable outcome, defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 0–3 at 90 days. Secondary outcomes included functional independence (90-day mRS score 0–2), and the rate of successful reperfusion. The safety outcomes included all-cause mortality at 90 days, the occurrence of any procedural complication, and the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). In addition, we performed analyses of the outcomes in subgroups that were defined by Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (≤8 or >8).ResultsIn the propensity score matched cohort, there were no difference in the primary outcome, secondary outcomes and safety outcomes between the two groups. Among patients with a GCS score of 8 or less, the proportion of successful reperfusion was significantly higher in the GA group than the non-GA group (aOR, 3.57, 95% CI 1.06–12.50, p = 0.04). In the inverse probability of treatment weighting-propensity score-adjusted cohort, similar results were found.ConclusionsPatients placed under GA during EVT for VBAO appear to be as effective and safe as non-GA. Furthermore, GA might yield better successful reperfusion for worse presenting GCS score (≤8).RegistrationURL: http://www.chictr.org.cn/; Unique identifier: ChiCTR2000033211.

The supporting position and role of smart grids in the construction of smart cities have not been fully explored. Based on systematizing the system architecture of smart cities, we first analyze the facilitating and constraining roles of smart grids and smart cities with each other and make a quantitative analysis of the coordination and supporting roles between them; in the smart grid environment, we propose a framework of energy management system based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) dispatching model. The algorithm optimizes the operation of dispatchable loads, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems based on outdoor temperature forecasts, renewable energy power output forecasts, day-ahead tariff signals, and customer preferences to minimize customer electricity costs. The performance of the algorithm is verified through simulation experiments, and the results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces electricity consumption costs by 32.54% compared to algorithms that only optimize the scheduling of loads or some components of the home energy management system.

The rational design of single-atom catalysts is challenging. This work reveals a substrate-strain tuned geometry distortion of CuN2C2 single-atom site, which greatly boosts oxygen reduction activity by facilitating electron transfer to adsorbed O.

The origin of the hollow icosahedral M12 kernel in metal nanoclusters is under debate. Here the authors demonstrate the Au alloying-induced kernel collapse from small-sized nano-building blocks as a viable approach for the generation of hollow icosahedral M12 kernel in metal nanoclusters.

Abstract Surface chemistry modification represents a promising strategy to tailor the adsorption and activation of reaction intermediates for enhancing activity. Herein, we designed a surface oxygen-injection strategy to tune the electronic structure of SnS2 nanosheets, which showed effectively enhanced electrocatalytic activity and selectivity of CO2 reduction to formate and syngas (CO and H2). The oxygen-injection SnS2 nanosheets exhibit a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 91.6% for carbonaceous products with a current density of 24.1 mA cm−2 at −0.9 V vs RHE, including 83.2% for formate production and 16.5% for syngas with the CO/H2 ratio of 1:1. By operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we unravel the in situ surface oxygen doping into the matrix during reaction, thereby optimizing the Sn local electronic states. Operando synchrotron radiation infrared spectroscopy along with theoretical calculations further reveals that the surface oxygen doping facilitated the CO2 activation and enhanced the affinity for HCOO* species. This result demonstrates the potential strategy of surface oxygen injection for the rational design of advanced catalysts for CO2 electroreduction.

Although CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing has been widely used for plant genetic engineering, its application in the genetic improvement of trees has been limited, partly because of challenges in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. As an important model for poplar genomics and biotechnology research, eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) clone WV94 can be transformed by A. tumefaciens, but several challenges remain unresolved, including the relatively low transformation efficiency and the relatively high rate of false positives from antibiotic-based selection of transgenic events. Moreover, the efficacy of CRISPR-Cas system has not been explored in P. deltoides yet. Here, we first optimized the protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated stable transformation in P. deltoides WV94 and applied a UV-visible reporter called eYGFPuv in transformation. Our results showed that the transgenic events in the early stage of transformation could be easily recognized and counted in a non-invasive manner to narrow down the number of regenerated shoots for further molecular characterization (at the DNA or mRNA level) using PCR. We found that approximately 8.7% of explants regenerated transgenic shoots with green fluorescence within two months. Next, we examined the efficacy of multiplex CRISPR-based genome editing in the protoplasts derived from P. deltoides WV94 and hybrid poplar clone ‘52-225’ (P. trichocarpa × P. deltoides clone ‘52-225’). The two constructs expressing the Trex2-Cas9 system resulted in mutation efficiency ranging from 31% to 57% in hybrid poplar clone 52-225, but no editing events were observed in P. deltoides WV94 transient assay. The eYGFPuv-assisted plant transformation and genome editing approach demonstrated in this study has great potential for accelerating the genome editing-based breeding process in poplar and other non-model plants species and point to the need for additional CRISPR work in P. deltoides.

Mutualistic association can improve a plant’s health and productivity. G-type lectin receptor-like kinase (PtLecRLK1) is a susceptibility factor in Populus trichocarpa that permits root colonization by a beneficial fungus, Laccaria bicolor. Engineering PtLecRLK1 also permits L. bicolor root colonization in non-host plants similar to Populus trichocarpa. The intracellular signaling reprogramed by PtLecRLK1 upon recognition of L. bicolor to allow for the development and maintenance of symbiosis is yet to be determined. In this study, phosphoproteomics was utilized to identify phosphorylation-based relevant signaling pathways associated with PtLecRLK1 recognition of L. bicolor in transgenic switchgrass roots. Our finding shows that PtLecRLK1 in transgenic plants modifies the chitin-triggered plant defense and MAPK signaling along with a significant adjustment in phytohormone signaling, ROS balance, endocytosis, cytoskeleton movement, and proteasomal degradation in order to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of L. bicolor colonization. Moreover, protein–protein interaction data implicate a cGMP-dependent protein kinase as a potential substrate of PtLecRLK1.

BackgroundVolumetric alterations of subcortical structures as predictors of antipsychotic treatment response have been previously corroborated, but less is known about whether their morphological covariance relates to treatment outcome and is driven by gene expression and epigenetic modifications.MethodsSubcortical volumetric covariance was analyzed by using baseline T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 38 healthy controls and 38 drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia patients. Patients were treated with 8-week risperidone monotherapy and divided into responder and non-responder groups according to the Remission in Schizophrenia Working Group (RSWG). We utilized partial least squares (PLS) regression to examine the spatial associations between gene expression of subcortical structures from a publicly available transcriptomic dataset and between-group variances of structural covariance. The peripheral DNA methylation (DNAm) status of a gene of interest (GOI), overlapping between genes detected in the PLS and 108 schizophrenia candidate gene loci previously reported, was examined in parallel with MRI scanning.ResultsIn the psychotic symptom dimension, non-responders had a higher baseline structural covariance in the putamen–hippocampus–pallidum–accumbens pathway compared with responders. For disorganized symptoms, significant differences in baseline structural covariant connections were found in the putamen–hippocampus–pallidum–thalamus circuit between the two subgroups. The imaging variances related to psychotic symptom response were spatially related to the expression of genes enriched in neurobiological processes and dopaminergic pathways. The DNAm of GOI demonstrated significant associations with patients’ improvement of psychotic symptoms.ConclusionBaseline subcortical structural covariance and peripheral DNAm may relate to antipsychotic treatment response. Phenotypic variations in subcortical connectome related to psychotic symptom response may be transcriptomically and epigenetically underlaid. This study defines a roadmap for future studies investigating multimodal imaging epigenetic biomarkers for treatment response in schizophrenia.

The 7-hole probe measurement system is mainly used to measure three-dimensional flow fields. During the measurement, the probe head was in direct contact with the measured object, and the head structure had a significant influence on the accuracy of the flow field measurement. The main influencing factors were the hole opening mode, hole position, and hole diameter. For a hemispherical 7-hole probe with perpendicular and forward-facing holes, orthogonal experiments with three levels and three factors (inflow velocity, hole position, and hole diameter) were designed, and additional experiments were conducted on the significant factors. The importance of factors was evaluated based on the correlation between different structural parameters and the pressure coefficient. The experiment was simulated using FLUENT, and the numerical simulation results demonstrated that the square of deviance at the inlet velocity, hole diameter, and hole position was 0.0018, 0.0013, and 0.3611, respectively. The position of the hole has a significant influence on the measurement results, but the influence of the inflow velocity and hole diameter is negligible, and the pressure coefficient is the smallest when the hole is at 45°. For the hemispherical 7-hole probe with forward facing hole, the hole is the best at approximately 45°, and considering the convenience of processing, the diameter of the hole can be selected as the diameter of the 1/10 probe.

To solve the copyright protection problem of a colour image, a new blind colour image watermarking method combining a discrete cosine transform (DCT) in the spatial domain is presented in this study. The advantages of the spatial‐domain watermarking algorithm and frequency‐domain one are made full use in this scheme. Based on the different quantisation steps in red, green, and blue three‐layer images, the processes of watermark embedding and blind extraction are completed in the spatial domain without a real DCT domain. The scheme is realised by using the unique features of the direct current (DC) coefficient and the relativity of DC coefficients between adjacent pixel blocks. This scheme can effectively solve the problems of the large‐capacity colour image watermarking algorithm, such as long‐running time and weak robustness. Comparing with other advanced watermarking algorithms, the presented scheme has better invisibility, stronger robustness, and higher real‐time performance.

Abstract Background With the widespread outbreak of novel coronavirus diseases 2019(COVID-19), more and more death cases were reported, however, limited data are available for the patients who died. We aimed to explore the clinical characteristics of deaths with COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods We abstracted and analyzed epidemiological, demographic, clinical, and laboratory data from 83 death cases with COVID-19 pneumonia in East Hospital of Wuhan University Renmin Hospital, between January 26, 2020, and February 28, 2020. Results Of the 83 deaths, none was the medical staff. The mean age was 71.8 years (SD 13.2; range, 34–97 years) and 53(63.9%) were male. The median from onset to admission was 10 days (IQR 7–14: range, 2–43 days), to death was 17 days (IQR 14–21: range, 6–54 days). Most deaths (66[80%]) had underlying comorbid diseases, the most of which was hypertension [47(57%)]. The main initial symptoms of these 83 deaths were shortness of breath(98.8%), fever(94%), and myalgia or fatigue(90.4%). Laboratory analyses showed the lymphocytopenia in 69(83%) deaths, hypoalbuminemia in 77(93%) deaths, the elevation of lactate dehydrogenase in 79(95%) deaths, procalcitonin in 69(83%) deaths and C-reactive protein in 79(95%) deaths. All 83 patients received antiviral treatment, 81(97.6%) deaths received antibiotic therapy, 54(65.1%) deaths received glucocorticoid therapy, and 20(24.1%) patients received invasive mechanical ventilation. Conclusion Most of the deaths with COVID-19 pneumonia were elderly patients with underlying comorbid diseases, especially those over 70 years of age. The time of death after the onset of the disease was mostly 15–21 days. More care should be given to the elderly in further prevention and control strategies of COVID-19.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical significance of outer zona pellucid in tear ferning image in dry eye patients and explore a new method for evaluation tear lipid layer. METHODS:Forty-seven patients were randomly selected from the outpatient department of ophthalmology, He Eye hospital, Shenyang from May 2018 to July 2019. The right eye was selected as the study object. All patients were investigated by the ocular surface disease index(OSDI)questionnaire and performed lipid layer classification by DR-1 tear interferometry, NIBUT and tear meniscus height examination by OCULUS Keratograph. Then tears were collected and tear ferning tests was performed. The whole tear crystallization images were observed and photographed by microscopy, then measured by Digimizer software and the area ratios of outer transparent belt were calculated. Pearson correlation analysis were performed between area ratios of outer transparent belt and OSDI scores, lipid layer levels, tear meniscus height values, NIBUT values. RESULTS: The area ratios of outer transparent belt were negatively correlated with OSDI scores(r=-0.764, Pr=-0.838, Pr=0.575, Pr=-0.237, P=0.112). CONCLUSION: The outer transparent belt in tear crystallization image can be used to evaluate the lipid layer of tear film; the larger area ratios of outer transparent belt, the thicker the lipid layer. This method has the advantages of quantified results, good repeatability, low requirement on equipment, and is worth popularizing.

Understanding the structural dynamics of single-atom site in electrochemical reactions is crucial for design of an efficient catalyst. Here, the authors develop highly active Pt single-atom electrocatalyst, and reveal the dynamic evolution of active sites by using operando synchrotron spectroscopy.

Three-dimensional tactile sensing in smart devices is witnessing an increasing demand. In this study, a three-dimensional tactile sensor is proposed according to the principle of triboelectricity by using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) films. Use of PDMS-ZnO composite films increases the output voltage of the electrodes. The sensor is designed with a cross beam-shaped pressure head to enable sensing normal forces in five directions. The working mechanism of the sensor is analyzed using the finite element method. The calculation results indicate a linear relationship between the output voltage and the force. The simulation results also demonstrate that the output voltage is linearly correlated with the applied force in the range of 1–30 N. Test results show that the sensor can sense the magnitude, frequency, and direction of the force as well as measure the duration of the force. The hardness of the object has a significant effect on the output voltage. Finally, the sensor is tested on a manipulator grasping an object to demonstrate its ability to sense the contact and sliding of the object.

Sintering supported metal nanoparticles is the common route to the deactivation of industrial heterogeneous catalysts. Here, the authors report a carbon atomization process that allows one not only to redisperse metal nanoparticles, but also to recover deactivated catalysts.

Monitoring catalyst structural changes under working conditions is crucial for understanding how catalysts operate. Here, authors examine single-atom Ru electrocatalyst by operando synchrotron spectroscopies to identify the catalytic mechanism during the acidic oxygen evolution reaction.

Acetylene detection plays an important role in fault diagnosis of power transformers. However, the available dissolved gas analysis (DGA) techniques have always relied on bulky instruments and are time-consuming. Herein, a high-performance acetylene sensor was fabricated on a microhotplate chip using In2O3 as the sensing material. To achieve high sensing response to acetylene, Pd–Ag core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized and used as catalysts. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image clearly shows that the Ag shell is deposited on one face of the cubic Pd nanoseeds. By loading the Pd–Ag bimetallic catalyst onto the surface of In2O3 sensing material, the acetylene sensor has been fabricated for acetylene detection. Due to the high catalytic performance of Pd–Ag bimetallic nanoparticles, the microhotplate sensor has a high response to acetylene gas, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 ppb. In addition to high sensitivity, the fabricated microhotplate sensor exhibits satisfactory selectivity, good repeatability, and fast response to acetylene. The high performance of the microhotplate sensor for acetylene gas indicates the application potential of trace acetylene detection in power transformer fault diagnosis.

The phenylpropanoid pathway serves as a rich source of metabolites in plants and provides precursors for lignin biosynthesis. Lignin first appeared in tracheophytes and has been hypothesized to have played pivotal roles in land plant colonization. In this review, we summarize recent progress in defining the lignin biosynthetic pathway in lycophytes, monilophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. In particular, we review the key structural genes involved in p-hydroxyphenyl-, guaiacyl-, and syringyl-lignin biosynthesis across plant taxa and consider and integrate new insights on major transcription factors, such as NACs and MYBs. We also review insight regarding a new transcriptional regulator, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, canonically identified as a key enzyme in the shikimate pathway. We use several case studies, including EPSP synthase, to illustrate the evolution processes of gene duplication and neo-functionalization in lignin biosynthesis. This review provides new insights into the genetic engineering of the lignin biosynthetic pathway to overcome biomass recalcitrance in bioenergy crops.

Abstract Constructing nitrogen (N2) adsorption and activation sites on semiconductors is the key to achieving efficient N2 photofixation. Herein, Mn–W dual‐metal sites on WO3 are designed toward efficient N2 photoreduction via controlled Mn doping. Impressively, the optimal 2.3% Mn‐doped WO3 (Mn‐WO3) exhibits a remarkable ammonia (NH3) production rate of 425 µmol gcat.−1 h−1, representing the best catalytic performance among the ever‐reported tungsten oxide‐based photocatalysts for N2 fixation. Quasi in situ synchrotron radiation X‐ray spectroscopy directly identifies that the Mn–W dual‐metal sites can enhance the polarization of the adsorbed N2, which is beneficial to the N2 activation. Further theoretical calculations reveal that the increased polarization is originated from the electron back‐donation into the antibonding orbitals of the adsorbed N2, hence lowering the reaction energy barrier toward the N2 photofixation. The concept of dual sites construction for inert molecule activation offers a powerful platform toward rational design of highly efficient catalysts for nitrogen fixation and beyond.

A continuous increase in ambient temperature caused by global warming has been considered a worldwide threat. As sessile organisms, plants have evolved sophisticated heat shock response (HSR) to respond to elevated temperatures and other abiotic stresses, thereby minimizing damage and ensuring the protection of cellular homeostasis. In particular, for perennial trees, HSR is crucial for their long life cycle and development. HSR is a cell stress response that increases the number of chaperones including heat shock proteins (HSPs) to counter the negative effects on proteins caused by heat and other stresses. There are a large number of HSPs in plants, and their expression is directly regulated by a series of heat shock transcription factors (HSFs). Therefore, understanding the detailed molecular mechanisms of woody plants in response to extreme temperature is critical for exploring how woody species will be affected by climate changes. In this review article, we summarize the latest findings of the role of HSFs and HSPs in the HSR of woody species and discuss their regulatory networks and cross talk in HSR. In addition, strategies and programs for future research studies on the functions of HSFs and HSPs in the HSR of woody species are also proposed.

Abstract Background Elevated levels of plasma D-dimer increase the risk of ischemic stroke, stroke severity, and the progression of stroke status, but the association between plasma D-dimer level and functional outcome is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate whether plasma D-dimer level is a determinant of short-term poor functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods This prospective study included 877 Chinese patients with AIS admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University within 72 h of symptom onset. Patients were categorized by plasma D-dimer level: Quartile 1(≤0.24 mg/L), Quartile 2 (0.25–0.56 mg/L), Quartile 3 (0.57–1.78 mg/L), and Quartile 4 (> 1.78 mg/L). The medical record of each patient was reviewed, and demographic, clinical, laboratory and neuroimaging information was abstracted. Functional outcome at 90 days was assessed with the modified Rankin Scale. Results Poor outcome was present in 302 (34.4%) of the 877 patients that were included in the study (mean age, 64 years; male, 68.5%). After adjustment for potential confounding variables, higher plasma D-dimer level on admission was associated with poor outcome (adjusted odds ratio 2.257, 95% confidence interval 1.349–3.777 for Q4:Q1; P trend = 0.004). According to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the best discriminating factor for poor outcome was a plasma D-dimer level ≥ 0.315 mg/L (area under the ROC curve 0.657; sensitivity 83.8%; specificity 41.4%). Conclusion Elevated plasma D-dimer levels on admission are significantly associated with poor outcome after admission for AIS, suggesting the potential role of plasma D-dimer level as a predictive marker for short-term poor outcome in patients with AIS.

Defect-engineering offers a promising route to vary material properties and reactivities, although the achievable defect types are limited. Here, the authors introduced unusual CN-vacancies in Prussian blue analogue pre-catalysts that can limit Fe leaching and improve oxygen evolution performances.

In this paper, a novel spatial domain color image watermarking technique is proposed to rapidly and effectively protect the copyright of the color image. First, the direct current (DC) coefficient of 2D-DFT obtained in the spatial domain is discussed, and the relationship between the change of each pixel in the spatial domain and the change of the DC coefficient in the Fourier transform is proved. Then, the DC coefficient is used to embed and extract watermark in the spatial domain by the proposed quantization technique. The novelties of this paper include three points: 1) the DC coefficient of 2D-DFT is obtained in the spatial domain without of the true 2D-DFT; 2) the relationship between the change of each pixel in the image block and the change of the DC coefficient of 2D-DFT is found, and; 3) the proposed method has the short running time and strong robustness. The experimental results on two publicly available image databases (CVG-UGR and USC-SIPI) have shown that the proposed method not only has satisfied the needs of invisibility but also has better performance in terms of robustness and real-time feature, which show the proposed method has both advantages of spatial domain and frequency domain.

Cross-modal hashing has been studied extensively in the past decades for its significant advantage in computation and storage cost. For heterogeneous data points, the cross-modal hashing aims at learning a sharing Hamming space in where one query from one modality can retrieve relevant items of another modality. Although the cross-modal hashing method has achieved significant progress, there are some limitations that need to be further solved. First, to leverage the semantic information in hash codes, most of them learn hash codes from a similarity matrix, which is constructed by class labels directly, ignoring the fact that the class labels may contain noises in the real world. Second, most of them relax the discrete constraint on hash codes, which may cause large quantization error and inevitably results in suboptimal performance. To address the above issues, we propose a discrete robust supervised hashing (DRSH) algorithm in this paper. Specifically, both the class labels and features from different modalities are first fused to learn a robust similarity matrix through low-rank constraint that can reveal its structure and capture the noises in it. And then, hash codes are generated by preserving the robust similarity matrix-based similarities in the sharing Hamming space. The optimization is challenging due to the discrete constraint on hash codes. Finally, a discrete optimal algorithm is proposed to address this issue. We evaluate the DRSH on three real-world datasets, and the results demonstrate the superiority of DRSH over several existing hashing methods.

Within the context of global warming, long-living plants such as perennial woody species endure adverse conditions. Among all of the abiotic stresses, drought stress is one of the most detrimental stresses that inhibit plant growth and productivity. Plants have evolved multiple mechanisms to respond to drought stress, among which transcriptional regulation is one of the key mechanisms. In this review, we summarize recent progress on the regulation of drought response by transcription factor (TF) families, which include abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent ABA-responsive element/ABRE-binding factors (ABRE/ABF), WRKY, and Nuclear Factor Y families, as well as ABA-independent AP2/ERF and NAC families, in the model plant Arabidopsis. We also review what is known in woody species, particularly Populus, due to its importance and relevance in economic and ecological processes. We discuss opportunities for a deeper understanding of drought response in woody plants with the development of high-throughput omics analyses and advanced genome editing techniques.