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Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, causing a huge socioeconomic burden. In parallel with the widespread uptake of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology, there has been a rapid accumulation of data produced by researching AD at single-cell resolution, which is more conductive to explore the neuroimmune-related mechanism of AD. Objective: To explore the potential features of T cells in the peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients. Methods: Two datasets, GSE181279 and GSE134578, were integrated from GEO database. Seurat, Monocle, CellChat, scRepertoire, and singleR packages were mainly employed for data analysis. Results: Our analysis demonstrated that in peripheral blood, T cells were significantly expanded, and these expanded T cells were possessed effector function, such as CD8+TEMRA, CD4+TEMRA, and CD8+TEM. Interestingly, CD8+TEMRA and CD4+TEMRA cells positioned adjacently after dimensions reduction and clustering. Notably, we identified that the expanded T cells were developed from Naïve T cells and TCM cells, and TEM cells was in the intermediate state of this developing process. Additionally, in cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients, the amplified T cells were mainly CD8+TEMRA cells, and the number and strength of communication between CD4+TEM, CD8+TEM, and CD8+TEMRA were decreased in AD patients. Conclusions: Our comprehensive analyses identified the cells in cerebrospinal fluid from AD patients are expanded TEMRA or TEM cells and the TEMRA cells communicating with other immune cells is weakened, which may be an important immune feature that leads to AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionsThe Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) has been described as a useful screening tool for patient prognosis in several diseases. As a potential diagnostic index, it has attracted the interest of many physicians. However, the correlation between the PNI and post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) remains unclear.A total of 285 patients with acute ischemic stroke were included. PNI was assessed as serum albumin (g/L) + 5× lymphocyte count (109/L) and was dichotomized according to the prespecified cut-off points 48.43 for the high and low groups. PSCI was defined as Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) < 27 at the 6–10 months follow-up. Multiple logistic regression and linear regression analyses were performed to examine the association between PNI and cognitive outcomes.A low PNI was independently associated with PSCI after adjusting for age, sex, education, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), deep white matter hyperintensity (DWMH), and stroke history (odds ratio [OR]: 2.158; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.205–3.863). The PNI scores were significantly associated with MMSE and attention domain (β = 0.113, p = 0.006; β = 0.109, p = 0.041, respectively). The PNI improved the model’s discrimination when added to the model with other clinical risk factors.A low PNI was independently associated with the occurrence of PSCI and the PNI scores were specifically associated with the scores of global cognition and attention domain. It can be a promising and straightforward screening indicator to identify the person with impaired immune-nutritional status at higher risk of PSCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pyroptosis has been demonstrated being closely associated with the inflammatory progression in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, platycodon D (PLD) has emerged as a key anti-inflammatory mediator in the inflammatory progression of various respiratory diseases. This study aims at investigating whether PLD could reduce inflammatory progression of CRS by inhibiting pyroptosis. Methods: Nasal mucosal tissues from patients with CRS and the control group (simple nasal septal deviation) were analyzed for morphological difference using hematoxylin & eosin staining and for the expression of pyroptosis-related makers by immunofluorescence (IF). Human nasal epithelial cells (HNEpCs) were cultured and co-stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to construct an in vitro cellular model simulating CRS. After pretreatment with PLD, EthD-I staining, TUNEL staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and GSDMD-NT detection were performed to evaluate pyroptosis markers. The NLRP3 inflammasome was detected by IF and western blotting (WB). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by H2DCFDA staining, and mitochondrial membrane potential was evaluated by JC-1 staining. Mitochondrial morphology and structure were observed using TEM. The Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway was detected using WB. Results: The nasal mucosa structure of patients with CRS exhibited significant damage, with a marked increase in the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins compared with the control group. LPS/ATP co-stimulation resulted in an increased expression of IL-18 and IL-1β in HNEpCs, causing significant damage to nuclear and cell membranes, GSDMD-NT accumulation around the cell membrane, and intracellular NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Furthermore, it led to increased ROS expression, significantly decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and damaged mitochondrial structure. However, pretreatment with PLD significantly reversed the aforementioned trends and activated the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway. Conclusions: The results of this study confirm that NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis plays a crucial role in the pathological process of nasal mucosal impairment in patients with CRS. PLD inhibits NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis, preventing inflammatory damage in HNEpCs of patients with CRS by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway, which in turn reduces ROS production and ameliorates mitochondrial damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pyroptosis has been demonstrated being closely associated with the inflammatory progression in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, platycodon D (PLD) has emerged as a key anti-inflammatory mediator in the inflammatory progression of various respiratory diseases. This study aims at investigating whether PLD could reduce inflammatory progression of CRS by inhibiting pyroptosis. Methods: Nasal mucosal tissues from patients with CRS and the control group (simple nasal septal deviation) were analyzed for morphological difference using hematoxylin & eosin staining and for the expression of pyroptosis-related makers by immunofluorescence (IF). Human nasal epithelial cells (HNEpCs) were cultured and co-stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to construct an in vitro cellular model simulating CRS. After pretreatment with PLD, EthD-I staining, TUNEL staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and GSDMD-NT detection were performed to evaluate pyroptosis markers. The NLRP3 inflammasome was detected by IF and western blotting (WB). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by H2DCFDA staining, and mitochondrial membrane potential was evaluated by JC-1 staining. Mitochondrial morphology and structure were observed using TEM. The Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway was detected using WB. Results: The nasal mucosa structure of patients with CRS exhibited significant damage, with a marked increase in the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins compared with the control group. LPS/ATP co-stimulation resulted in an increased expression of IL-18 and IL-1β in HNEpCs, causing significant damage to nuclear and cell membranes, GSDMD-NT accumulation around the cell membrane, and intracellular NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Furthermore, it led to increased ROS expression, significantly decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and damaged mitochondrial structure. However, pretreatment with PLD significantly reversed the aforementioned trends and activated the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway. Conclusions: The results of this study confirm that NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis plays a crucial role in the pathological process of nasal mucosal impairment in patients with CRS. PLD inhibits NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis, preventing inflammatory damage in HNEpCs of patients with CRS by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway, which in turn reduces ROS production and ameliorates mitochondrial damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is an important plant pathogenic fungus of many crops. Our previous study identified the S. sclerotiorum agglutinin (SSA) that can be partially degraded by the serine protease CmSp1 from the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans. However, the biological functions of SSA in the pathogenicity of S. sclerotiorum and in its response to infection by C. minitans, as well as to environmental stresses, remain unknown. In this study, SSA disruption and complementary mutants were generated for characterization of its biological functions. Both the wild-type (WT) of S. sclerotiorum and the mutants were compared for growth and sclerotial formation on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and autoclaved carrot slices (ACS), for pathogenicity on oilseed rape, as well as for susceptibility to chemical stresses (NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, sorbitol, mannitol, sucrose, sodium dodecyl sulfate, H2O2) and to the mycoparasitism of C. minitans. The disruption mutants (ΔSSA-175, ΔSSA-178, ΔSSA-225) did not differ from the WT and the complementary mutant ΔSSA-178C in mycelial growth. However, compared to the WT and ΔSSA-178C, the disruption mutants formed immature sclerotia on PDA, and produced less but larger sclerotia on ACS; they became less sensitive to the eight investigated chemical stresses, but more aggressive in infecting leaves of oilseed rape, and more susceptible to mycoparasitism by C. minitans. These results suggest that SSA positively regulates sclerotial development and resistance to C. minitans mycoparasitism, but negatively regulates pathogenicity and resistance to chemical stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on renewable energy, we developed an efficient and robust catalyst for overall water splitting (OWS). Using density functional theory (DFT) as the guide, a combination electrode with bifunctional activities based on Co-based carbonate hydroxides (CCHs) and pyrenely-graphdiyne nanowalls (Pyr-GDY-NWs) with three-dimensional structures was designed, and then a series of experiments were attempted to prepare the combination electrode CCH@Pyr-GDY-NWs. From the data of theory and experiment, we found that the combination electrode CCH@Pyr-GDY-NWs exhibits an outstanding catalytic activity towards OWS. The design approach reported herein could open up a new avenue for the construction of three-dimensional Pyr-GDY-NW-based electrodes with high catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new two-dimensional {Cu6}-added polyoxometalate cluster–organic framework (Cu-POMCOF) was prepared by a hydrothermal method from lacunary polyoxoanions and was applied as a solid support for immobilizing MP-11 and Cyt c. The biocomposite complex exhibits higher stability and catalytic activity than the original free enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone (O3) pollution has a profound impact on human health, vegetation development, and the ecological environment, making it a critical focus of global academic research. In recent years, O3 pollution in China has been on a steady rise, with ozone emerging as the sole conventional pollutant to consistently increase in concentration without any decline. This study conducted a quantitative analysis of O3 concentrations across 367 Chinese cities in 2019, examining spatial autocorrelation and local clustering of O3 levels, and investigated the diverse relationships between human activity factors and O3 concentration. The seasonal fluctuation of O3 exhibited the “M-type” pattern, with peak concentrations in winter and the lowest levels in summer. The center of O3 pollution migrated southeastward, with the area of highest concentration progressively shifting south along the eastern coast. Moreover, O3 concentration showed a strong positive correlation with population density, road freight volume, and industrial emissions, suggesting that human activities, vehicle emissions, and industrial operations are significant contributors to O3 production. The results provide comprehensive information on the characteristics, causes, and occurrence mechanism of O3 in Chinese cities that can be utilized by global government departments to formulate strategies to prevent and control O3 pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In complex interactive scenarios, action understanding lies at the heart of social interactions. Nevertheless, the ability to understand action intention may differ among people. The current study distinguished two groups of participants with different social intention-understanding abilities (high and low) based on a perspective-taking task to investigate the influence of social intention on object affordance under conditions of individual and cooperative action intention. In the affordance perception experiment, participants were shown a video with the presenter reaching to grasp an object in different grips and asked to classify objects into kitchen or non-kitchen items by pressing the left- or right-hand button under the two intention conditions. The results showed that the object affordance effects were modulated by the participants' understanding of social intention in the interactive scenarios. Specifically, the object affordance effects were observed only in the high perspective-taking ability group under the condition of cooperative action intention. However, under the condition of individual action intention, object affordance effects were shown in both the high and low perspective-taking ability groups, and the difference between the two groups was not significant. This study suggests that processing of object affordance depends greatly on the contextual correspondence of perception and action and that the understanding of cooperative action intention can affect the activation of object affordance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have suggested that therapeutic upregulation of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) prevents hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. However, the mechanisms underlying this outcome are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the expression and functional roles of C/EBPα in human HCC, with a focus on monocytes/macrophages (Mφs). Paraffin-embedded tissues were used to visualize C/EBPα expression and analyze the prognostic value of C/EBPα+ monocytes/Mφs in HCC patients. The underlying regulatory mechanisms were examined using human monocyte-derived Mφs. The results showed that the expression of C/EBPα on monocytes/Mφs was significantly decreased in intra-tumor tissues compared to the corresponding peri-tumor tissues. C/EBPα+ monocytes/Mφs displayed well-differentiation and antitumor capacities, and the accumulation of these cells in tissue was associated with antitumor immune responses and predicted longer overall survival (OS) of HCC patients. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that C/EBPα was required for Mφ maturation and HLA-DR, CD169 and CD86 expression, which initiates antitumor cytotoxic T-cell responses; however, these effects were inhibited by monocyte autocrine IL-6- and IL-1β-induced suppression of mTOR1 signaling. Reprogramming Mφs via the upregulation of C/EBPα may provide a novel strategy for cancer immunotherapy in patients with HCC. • C/EBPα expression on monocytes/Mφs correlates with antitumor immune response, but was significantly downregulated by HCC. • C/EBPα is required for Mφs differentiation/maturation and immunostimulatory HLA-DR, CD169 and CD86 expressions, which trigger T cells. • Monocytes autocrine IL-6 and IL-1β restricted mTOR1 signaling pathway, resulting in the depression of C/EBPα and formation of semimature Mφs. • C/EBPα expression restricted immunosuppressive Mφs proliferation and tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xiaoqinglong decoction (XQLD), first recorded in Shang Han Lun, is a traditional Chinese medicine prescribed for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR). XQLD alleviates the clinical symptoms of AR by inhibiting the occurrence of an inflammatory response, but the specific regulatory mechanism remains unclear. NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis is closely related to AR pathogenesis. Hence, this study aimed to explore the potentia l role of NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis pathway in the AR-associated pharmacological mechanism of XQLD. BALB/C mice models of AR was established by using ovalbumin (OVA) and aluminum hydroxide sensitization. After intragastric administration of different dosages of XQLD, nasal allergic symptoms were observed. The expression of OVA-sIgE and Th2 inflammatory factors (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in serum was detected by ELISA. The histopathological morphology and expression of inflammatory factors in nasal mucosa along with pyroptosis were investigated. Molecular docking was performed to analyze the binding of representative compounds of XQLD with NLRP3. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome was detected by immunofluorescence and western blotting. XQLD significantly improved the nasal allergic symptoms of mice, reduced the degree of goblet cell proliferation, mast cell infiltration, and collagen fiber hyperplasia in nasal mucosa. Meanwhile, it could downregulate the expression of Th2 inflammatory factors (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in serum and nasal mucosa. XQLD significantly reduced the number of GSDMD and TUNEL double-positive cells and IL-1β and IL-18 expression. Molecular docking confirmed that seven representative compounds of XQLD had good binding properties with NLRP3 and were able to inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. The representative compounds of XQLD might inhibit pyroptosis in nasal mucosa mediated by the NLRP3 inflammasome to helping the recovery of AR, which provides a new modern pharmacological proof for XQLD to treat AR. [Display omitted] • Pyroptotic pathway mediated by the NLRP3 inflammasome is vital to an excessive inflammatory injury of nasal mucosa during the pathological process of AR. • XQLD alleviated the allergic symptoms of AR mice, and effectively inhibited Th2 inflammation and NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. • Xiaoqinglong decoction may inhibit the pathological process of AR by inhibiting NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While molecular testing is a promising strategy for preoperative assessment of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules, thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) presents unique challenges for molecular assays, including contaminating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and variable numbers of evaluable epithelial thyroid cells. Moreover, the newly recognized entity, noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP), has added an additional challenge to the currently available molecular diagnostic platforms. New diagnostic tools are still needed to correctly distinguish benign and malignant thyroid nodules preoperatively. Methods: Twenty-two transcript splice variants from 12 genes we previously identified as discriminating benign from malignant thyroid nodules were characterized in 80 frozen thyroid tumors from 8 histological subtypes. Isoforms detectable in PBMC were excluded, and the 5 most discriminating isoforms were further validated by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) on intraoperative FNA samples from 59 malignant tumors, 55 benign nodules, and 23 NIFTP samples. The qPCR threshold cycle values for each transcript were normalized to the thyrocyte-specific thyroid peroxidase isoform 1 (TPO1) and z-transformed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses of the composite transcript scores were used to evaluate classification of thyroid FNAs by the 5-gene isoform expression panel. Results: A molecular signature was developed by combining expression levels of specific isoforms of CDH3, FNDC4, HMGA2, KLK7, and PLAG1. FNAs containing at least 12–36 thyrocytes were sufficient for this assay. The 5-gene composite score achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.86 for distinguishing malignant from benign nodules, with a specificity of 91%, sensitivity of 75%, negative predictive value of 91%, and positive predictive value of 74%. Conclusion: Our newly developed 5-gene isoform expression panel distinguishes benign from malignant thyroid tumors and, may help distinguish benign from malignant thyroid nodules in the context of the new NIFTP subtype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrophages (Mϕ) represent a major component of tumor tissues and play an important role in both tumor progression and therapeutic response. Although tumor Mϕ are generally considered to be derived from circulating monocytes, emerging evidence indicates that tissue Mϕ pools can be maintained by self-renewal. We aimed to elucidate the contribution, phenotype, and regulatory mechanisms of proliferating Mϕ in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Flow cytometry analyses were performed to examine the presence and phenotype of proliferating Mϕ in fresh HCC tissues. Dual immunofluorescence staining was applied to analyze the prognostic value of proliferating Mϕ. The underlying regulatory mechanisms were examined using human monocyte-derived Mϕ. Tumor-infiltrating Mϕ exhibited a significantly higher proliferative capacity than Mϕ in non-tumor tissues. A higher level of Mϕ proliferation was positively correlated with Mϕ density in the tumor and a poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Proliferating Mϕ were less differentiated (with increased CD206 expression) and were induced by the tumor cell-derived soluble small molecule, adenosine, but not proteins, lipids, or large peptides. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that autocrine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) released by tumor-stimulated Mϕ could enhance A2A receptor expression on Mϕ and function synergistically with adenosine to elicit Mϕ proliferation in HCC. Local Mϕ proliferation is an important mechanism for Mϕ accumulation in HCC tissues. Tumor-derived adenosine functions synergistically with autocrine GM-CSF released from activated Mϕ, which promotes Mϕ proliferation. Thus, selective modulation of Mϕ accumulation at the source may provide a novel strategy for cancer therapy. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have been reported to play an essential role in both tumor progression and therapeutic response. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that regulate macrophage accumulation in tumors will undoubtedly lead to the development of strategies to target macrophages with high specificity and efficiency. The current study unveils a novel mechanism by which local proliferation is linked to macrophage accumulation in the tumor milieu, identifying potential targets for future immune-based anticancer therapies. • Local Mϕ proliferation is an important mechanism for Mϕ accumulation in HCC tissues. • Proliferating Mϕ exhibited elevated CD206 expression and fostered immune privilege to promote disease progression. • Tumor-derived adenosine in the microenvironment is required for local Mϕ proliferation. • Mϕ autocrine GM-CSF functions synergistically with adenosine to promote Mϕ proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the role of attention in unconscious inhibitory visuomotor processes in three experiments that employed a mixed paradigm including a spatial cueing task and masked prime task. Spatial attention to the prime was manipulated. Specifically, the valid‐cue condition (in which the prime obtained more attentional resources) and invalid‐cue condition (in which the prime obtained fewer attentional resources) were included. The behavioral results showed that the negative compatibility effect (a behavioral indicator of inhibitory visuomotor processing) in the valid‐cue condition was larger than that in the invalid‐cue condition. Most importantly, lateralized readiness potential results indicated that the prime‐related activation was stronger in the valid‐cue condition than in the invalid‐cue condition and that the followed inhibition in the compatible trials was also stronger in the valid‐cue condition than in the invalid‐cue condition. In line with the proposed attentional modulation model, unconscious visuomotor inhibitory processing is modulated by attentional resources. We investigate the attentional modulation of unconscious inhibitory visuomotor processes combining eye‐tracking and electroencephalogram. The results indicate that attention strengthens the prime‐related activation and followed inhibition in the absence of perception awareness. Our findings suggest that the automatic processing of unconscious stimuli is susceptible to top‐down control for optimizing intended information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intentional inhibition, a critical ability of human cognitive control, is the capacity to internally withhold a to-be-performed action. In the voluntary decision-making process, the cognitive system continuously generates intentional inhibition to ensure appropriate actions. However, the temporal dynamic of intentional inhibition is unclear. This study investigated the role of temporal preparation in internally generated intentional inhibition using a novel task that involved a modified free-choice task and a foreperiod paradigm. The experiment included Go, No-Go and free-choice trials, and temporal preparation was manipulated by varying the duration and constancy of the interval between the warning stimulus and target stimulus. The results showed that a high degree of temporal preparation can strengthen the intentional decision to inhibit action on free choices. By demonstrating that intentional inhibition is enhanced with increased temporal preparation, the present study illustrates how the cognitive decision-making system controls the flexibility and strategy in human behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconscious inhibition has generally been perceived to be dependent on stimulus–response (S-R) associations. Some research has shown that the inhibition related to strong associations increases with response latency to the target. Although this finding suggests that the inhibitory process may need time to unfold, its exact internal temporal dynamic remains to be elucidated. This study examined the role of spontaneous reaction time (RT) fluctuations on sensorimotor processes using letters (Experiments 1 and 2) and faces (Experiment 3), which are more ubiquitous in our environment and do not contain strong associations as stimuli in fixed and free-choice tasks. The results averaged across trials showed that there was no negative compatibility effect in either fixed or free-choice tasks. However, when trials were classified by their response latency, the results indicated that compatibility effects decreased and became negative with longer RTs in the fixed task. These results suggest that the internal temporal dynamic of unconscious inhibitory mechanisms related to fixed responses remains effective for stimuli that do not contain strong S-R associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A reaction network simplification algorithm based on explicit molecules was proposed. • The reaction network can be simplified via the algorithm without solving the model. • A molecular kinetic model for industrial naphtha catalytic cracking was developed. The complex molecular reaction network may contain excessive reaction details, resulting in the difficulty in solving the model. To reduce the size of a complex reaction network, this work proposed a reaction network simplification algorithm. The explicit molecules can be determined from the network according to the molecular-level characterization information. The remaining non-explicit substances were defined as intermediate and terminal molecules, respectively. A reaction screening rule was proposed to select key reactions and reduce the reaction network. This work took naphtha catalytic reforming as a studying case, and a reaction network containing excessive details was generated via reaction rules. After the reaction network simplification algorithm was employed, a simplified network was obtained. The results indicate that the product yield and temperature distribution calculated through the reduced network has an excellent agreement with the complete network, and the product composition also can be computed accurately. Simultaneously, the computational efficiency is enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether the effect of the valence and arousal of less or more affective experiential words on affective priming using event-related potentials (ERPs). The stimuli included less affective experiential (LE) words (Experiment 1) and more affective experiential (ME) words (Experiment 2) that were organized in an orthogonal design, with valence (positive and negative) and arousal (low and high) as factors in a lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, the results revealed no obvious effect of affective priming on response times (RTs) or ERPs for LE words. In Experiment 2, affective priming effects of ME words were influenced interactively by valence and arousal. Specifically, for positive ME words with high- and low-arousal, affectively incongruent trials were associated with longer RTs and enhanced late positive components (LPCs, 430–700 ms) compared with congruent trials (a positive effect). For negative ME words with low-arousal, no significant differences in RTs or LPC amplitudes were found between affectively congruent and incongruent trials (a null effect), whereas for negative ME words with high-arousal, the processing of congruent trials was associated with longer RTs and enhanced LPC amplitudes over that of incongruent trials (a reversal effect). On the one hand, our findings suggest that LE and ME words as primes produce different effects on the processing of subsequently presented targets. On the other hand, our findings further indicate that there seems to have a continuous transition from the spreading activation of ME words to an inhibition process in semantic memory along with their valence and arousal, which is involved in decision-making processes and memory-related stages. • Valence, arousal, and affective experience of words together contribute to affective priming. • Less and more affective experiential words as primes produce different affective priming effects. • No obvious effect of affective priming on RTs or ERPs for less affective experiential words • The size and direction of priming effect for more affective experiential words was modulated by their valence and arousal. • This modulation is involved in decision-making processes and memory-related stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Response readiness is a prerequisite for obtaining the NCE. • Temporal uncertainty modulates visuomotor priming. • Automatic processing of subliminal stimuli is susceptible to top-down control. Abstract The present study aims to examine the impact of response readiness on visuomotor processes triggered by subliminal stimuli using a mixed paradigm involving the masked prime paradigm and a foreperiod paradigm. Experiment 1 ensured that response readiness was successfully manipulated in the mixed paradigm. Importantly, Experiment 2 found that the negative compatibility effect (NCE; a behavioral indicator of subliminal visuomotor processes) disappeared and that response time lost its power to modulate the compatibility effect (CE) with reduced response readiness (due to temporal uncertainty). These results of CEs both independent of response latency and across different levels of response latency indicate that response readiness is a prerequisite for obtaining the NCE. The findings suggest that automatic processing of subliminal stimuli is susceptible to top-down control for reducing the interference of irrelevant information, which ensures a high degree of adaptability and flexibility of our cognitive system in interactions with the changing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few reports about the biosynthesis of α-arbutin using amylosucrase are available. In this work, an amylosucrase from Cellulomonas carboniz T26, CcAS, was identified for highly efficient synthesis of α-arbutin using 20 mM sucrose and 5 mM hydroquinone as a glucosyl donor and acceptor, respectively. The optimum conditions for transglucosylation are a pH of 7.0 and a temperature of 40 °C. Under these conditions, 40%–44.7% of molar production yield of α-arbutin can be obtained at low concentration of hydroquinone (5 mM) without addition of ascorbic acid after 2 h, which saves time and raw material compared with the reported amylosucrase DGAS. In spite of oxidation of hydroquinone at high concentration of 23.6 mM, 16.1% of molar production yield of α-arbutin is acquired using CcAS without addition of ascorbic acid, while only 1.3% is obtained using DGAS. This work presents that higher molar production yield of α-arbutin at low concentrations of hydroquinone can be obtained using amylosucrase, because hydroquinone at high concentrations is easily oxidized, which inhibits the synthesis of α-arbutin. Simultaneously, CcAS likely further glycosylates the synthesized α-arbutin after a 2-h reaction, which is not reported using DGAS. CcAS exhibits a potential in industrialized application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of postoperative hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) on long-term survival of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) after radical pancreatectomy. Methods: A total of 87 patients with PC underwent radical pancreatectomy in the First People's Hospital affiliated to Huzhou Normal College between June 2008 and May 2013. Among these patients, after surgery, 43 received two sessions of HAIC followed by four sessions of systemic chemotherapy (HAIC group), while 44 received six sessions of systemic chemotherapy alone (control group). Both the HAIC and systemic chemotherapy regimen included 5-fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m2) as a 5-h infusion on day 1, and gemcitabine (800 mg/m2) as an over 30-min infusion on days 1 and 8. The toxicity, complication, and long-term survival were retrospectively compared. Results: No significant difference in patient characteristics between the two groups was found. No chemotherapy-related deaths were recorded, and no significant difference in toxicities was observed between the two groups. The 5-year disease-free survival probability did not differ between the two groups (P=0.2029, hazard ratio for recurrence=0.7561; 95% CI=0.4768-1.1989, by the log-rank test). The HAIC group had significantly higher 5-year overall survival probability (P=0.0288, hazard ratio for death=0.6059; 95% CI=0.3734-0.9832, by the log-rank test) and higher 5-year hepatic metastases-free survival probability (P=0.0321, hazard ratio for hepatic metastases=0.5006; 95% CI=0.2546-0.9843, by the log-rank test) than the control group. Conclusions: Postoperative HAIC has the potential to prevent hepatic metastases and increase long-term survival probability of patients with PC after radical pancreatectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the roles of bottom-up mask-triggered inhibition and top-down inhibition in semantic categorization using the single negative priming (NP) paradigm. The masking (bottom-up) and ignore instructions (top-down, i.e., instructing participants to ignore the primes) were manipulated in Experiments 1–3 and Experiment 4, respectively. No priming was observed when only the masking was manipulated (Experiments 2 and 3), but NP was observed when a possible top-down ignore strategy (Experiment 1) or an ignore instruction (Experiment 4) was added. The results indicate that bottom-up mask-triggered inhibition cannot elicit semantic single NP by itself. However, top-down inhibition from an ignore instruction or ignore strategy is critical for triggering reliable semantic single NP. The findings suggest that semantic single NP originates from a push-pull mechanism by facilitating responses to unrelated trials and inhibiting responses to related trials. The experimental evidence also suggests that unconscious processes can be modulated by top-down control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the role of the automatization of stimulus and response (S-R) associations and response readiness in triggering the motor activation for masked primes in two experiments. The automatization of associations was manipulated by employing different types of stimuli, and response readiness was manipulated by varying the relative frequency of Go trials in a modified Go/No-Go task. Compatibility (compatible and incompatible), stimulus type (arrows and parallel lines), and test session (Sessions 1, 2, and 3) were manipulated in a high response-readiness condition (Experiment 1) and in a low response-readiness condition (Experiment 2). Negative compatibility effects (NCEs) occurred regardless of session and experiment in the arrow stimuli condition. However, in the parallel-line stimuli condition, no significant compatibility effect (CE) appeared regardless of the experiment in Sessions 1 and 2, whereas a significant NCE appeared in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2 in Session 3. These results are consistent with the claim that motor activation can only occur if the association between specific stimuli and specific responses has been automatized by previous practice, and response readiness can modulate the development of automaticity, but this modulation will have a minimal effect once the association is automatized. The findings also provide experimental evidence for the assumption that the formation of association-based automaticity could be modulated by top-down control (e.g., response readiness). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the role of attention in inhibitory processes (the inhibitory processes described in the current study refer only to those associated with masked or flanked priming) using a mixed paradigm involving the negative compatibility effect (NCE) and object-based attention. Accumulating evidence suggests that attention can be spread more easily within the same object, which increases the availability of attentional resources, than across different objects. Accordingly, we manipulated distractor location (with primes presented in the same object versus presented in different objects) together with prime/target compatibility (compatible versus incompatible) and prime-distractor stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA, 23 ms vs 70 ms). The aim was to investigate whether inhibitory processes related to weakly activated priming, which have been previously assumed to be automatic, depend on the availability of attentional resources. The results of Experiment 1 showed a significant NCE for the 70-ms SOA when the prime and distractor were presented in the same object (greater attentional resource availability); however, reversed NCEs were obtained for all other conditions. Experiment 2 was designed to disentangle whether the results of Experiment 1 were affected by the prime position, and the results indicated that the prime position did not modulate the NCE in Experiment 1. Together, these results are consistent with the claim that the availability of attentional resources modulates the inhibitory strength related to weakly activated priming. Specifically, if attentional resources are assigned to the distractor when it is presented in the same object as the prime, the strength of the inhibition elicited by the distractor may increase and reverse the activation elicited by the prime, which could lead to a significant NCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method to prepare Co 4 POM@FeOOH-P nanocomposite has been explored by using the Keggin-type polyoxometalate (Co 4 POM) doped β-FeOOH. Compared with the non-substituted POMs, transition metal substituted-POM would be a fatal factor to for improving the surface active sites of β-FeOOH. The nanocomposite exhibits the excellent electrochemical activity with a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at 213 mV overpotential, a lowest Tafel slope of 47 mV dec−1, and a excellent stability within 50 h in 1 M KOH. The Faraday efficiency is up to 97.6 %. The excellent electrocatalytic performance would be attributed to the multi-electronic structure of Co 4 POM and the structural advantage of pores in β-FeOOH. Transition metal substituted-POM doped β-FeOOH in this study could be an effective strategy for preparing nanocomposite as the high-performance electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction. A simple method to prepare Co 4 POM@FeOOH-P nanocomposite has been explored by using the Keggin-type polyoxometalate (Co 4 POM) doped β-FeOOH. Transition metal substituted-POM would improve the surface active sites of β-FeOOH, and further enhance the electrocatalytic performance towards oxygen evolution reaction with low overpotential and small Tafel slope. [Display omitted] • The Co 4 POM@FeOOH-P nanocomposite demonstrates the superior performance and stability of the electrochemical OER with low overpotentials of 213 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 47 mV dec−1. • The excellent electrocatalytic performance would be attributed to the multi-electronic structure of Co 4 POM and the structural advantage of pores in β-FeOOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By applying non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation, we investigate the effect of point defects on thermal conductivity of MoS 2 nanoribbons, such as sulfur vacancies (V S ) and oxygen substitutions to sulfur (S O ). It is found that both V S and S O can significantly reduce thermal conductivity of monolayer MoS 2 nanoribbons, but the suppression of thermal conductivity by vacancies is stronger than that by substitutions. For armchair MoS 2 nanoribbon of 41.1 nm length and 4.4 nm width, when defect density is only 1.5%, the reduction of thermal conductivity at room temperature by V S defects and S O defects is 42.3% and 35.1%, respectively. We perform the vibrational eigenmodes analysis and find that the strong localization of phonons of all modes by defects results in the severe reduction of thermal conductivity of MoS 2 nanoribbons. Further spectra analysis reveals that the localized modes are located in the sites of defects and the sites around defects, due to the change of force constant at these sites. Our findings are helpful for understanding and tuning the thermal conductivity of MoS 2 nanoribbons by defect engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from human and rodent studies have demonstrated that microgravity induces observed bone loss in real spaceflight or simulated experiments. The decrease of bone formation and block of maturation may play important roles in bone loss induced by microgravity. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of proliferation and differentiation in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) induced by simulated microgravity and the mechanisms underlying it. We report here that clinorotation, a simulated model of microgravity, decreased proliferation and differentiation in BMSCs after exposure to 48 h simulated microgravity. The inhibited proliferation are related with blocking the cell cycle in G2/M and enhancing the apoptosis. While alterations of the osteoblast differentiation due to the decreased SATB2 expression induced by simulated microgravity in BMSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxia, or low oxygen tension, is frequently found in highly proliferative solid tumors such as anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) and is believed to promote resistance to chemotherapy and radiation. Identifying hypoxic cells for targeted therapy may thus be an effective approach to treating aggressive cancers. Here, we explore the potential of the well-known hypoxia-responsive microRNA (miRNA) miR-210-3p as a cellular and extracellular biological marker of hypoxia. We compare miRNA expression across several ATC and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cell lines. In the ATC cell line SW1736, miR-210-3p expression levels indicate hypoxia during exposure to low oxygen conditions (2% O2). Furthermore, when released by SW1736 cells into the extracellular space, miR-210-3p is associated with RNA carriers such as extracellular vesicles (EVs) and Argonaute-2 (AGO2), making it a potential extracellular marker for hypoxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A tunable power splitter is proposed in a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a line defect composed of two rows rods, whose refractive index can be controlled artificially. This device is working at a self-collimation frequency. The finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations show that the beam splitting ratio is a function of the refractive index of line defect. If the index varies from 3.0 to 3.5, the beam intensity of one output port decreases from 87.2% (normalized by the input beam) to 0 while the intensity of the other output port increases from 8.98% to 100% monotonically. The coupling between the self-collimation mode and the defect mode is used to explain the working mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We show a dual-beam-reflection phenomenon for a Gaussian beam illuminating a hybrid structure of a dielectric waveguide and photonic crystal (WG-PC) inside the photonic band gap by numerical simulations. One reflection beam has a giant negative lateral shift, but the other has a positive lateral shift. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations show that this phenomenon has a time delay effect and comes from the leaky surface mode of the hybrid structure. Field profile of the leaky mode demonstrates a strong localized stationary field in the higher dielectric medium. Furthermore, the maximum lateral shift is almost two times of the waist of the incident beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The exploitation of heterosis to integrate parental advantages is one of the fastest and most efficient ways of rice breeding. The genomic architecture of heterosis suggests that the grain yield is strongly correlated with the accumulation of numerous rare superior alleles with positive dominance. However, the improvements in yield of hybrid rice have shown a slowdown or even plateaued due to the limited availability of complementary superior alleles. In this study, we achieved a considerable increase in grain yield of restorer lines by inducing an alternative splicing event in a heterosis gene OsMADS1 through CRISPR‐Cas9, which accounted for approximately 34.1%–47.5% of yield advantage over their corresponding inbred rice cultivars. To achieve a higher yield in hybrid rice, we crossed the gene‐edited restorer parents harbouring OsMADS1GW3p6 with the sterile lines to develop new rice hybrids. In two‐line hybrid rice Guang‐liang‐you 676 (GLY676), the yield of modified hybrids carrying the homozygous heterosis gene OsMADS1GW3p6 significantly exceeded that of the original hybrids with heterozygous OsMADS1. Similarly, the gene‐modified F1 hybrids with heterozygous OsMADS1GW3p6 increased grain yield by over 3.4% compared to the three‐line hybrid rice Quan‐you‐si‐miao (QYSM) with the homozygous genotype of OsMADS1. Our study highlighted the great potential in increasing the grain yield of hybrid rice by pyramiding a single heterosis gene via CRISPR‐Cas9. Furthermore, these results demonstrated that the incomplete dominance of heterosis genes played a major role in yield‐related heterosis and provided a promising strategy for breeding higher‐yielding rice varieties above what is currently achievable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a devastating X-linked neuromuscular disorder caused by various defects in the dystrophin gene and still no universal therapy. This study aims to identify the hub genes unrelated to excessive immune response but responsible for DMD progression and explore therapeutic siRNAs, thereby providing a novel treatment. Methods: Top ten hub genes for DMD were identified from GSE38417 dataset by using GEO2R and PPI networks based on Cytoscape analysis. The hub genes unrelated to excessive immune response were identified by GeneCards, and their expression was further verified in mdx and C57 mice at 2 and 4 months (M) by (RT-q) PCR and western blotting. Therapeutic siRNAs were deemed as those that could normalize the expression of the validated hub genes in transfected C2C12 cells. Results: 855 up-regulated and 324 down-regulated DEGs were screened from GSE38417 dataset. Five of the top 10 hub genes were considered as the candidate genes unrelated to excessive immune response, and three of these candidates were consistently and significantly up-regulated in mdx mice at 2 M and 4 M when compared with age-matched C57 mice, including Col1a2, Fbn1 and Fn1. Furthermore, the three validated up-regulated candidate genes can be significantly down-regulated by three rational designed siRNA (p < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion: COL1A2, FBN1 and FN1 may be novel biomarkers for DMD, and the siRNAs designed in our study were help to develop adjunctive therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have revealed the effect of locus of control on academic engagement and achievement motivation, but the role that achievement motivation plays in the relationship between the other two variables for Chinese adolescents has remained unclear. We conducted two studies to explore this issue. In Study 1 we used standardized scales to measure locus of control (Internal–External Control Scale), academic engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale–Student), and achievement motivation (Achievement Motivation Scale) among 1,811 middle school students. In Study 2 we intervened in the participants' achievement motivation by way of group counseling to further check the effect on their academic engagement. We randomly recruited 64 students from the same school for control and experimental groups and constructed a relationship model among the three variables of locus of control, academic engagement, and achievement motivation. Results demonstrated that intervention in achievement motivation can effectively enhance the academic engagement of middle school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Age-related cognitive decline has a significant impact on the health and longevity of older adults. Circulating very long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) may actively contribute to the improvement of cognitive function. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between arachidic acid (20:0), docosanoic acid (22:0), tricosanoic acid (23:0), and lignoceric acid (24:0) with cognitive function in older adults. Methods: This study used a dataset derived from the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). A total of 806 adults (≥ 60 years) were included who underwent comprehensive cognitive testing and plasma fatty acid measurements. Multivariable linear regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS), and interaction analyses were used to assess associations between VLSFAs and cognitive function. Partial Spearman' s correlation analysis was used to examine the correlations between VLSFAs and palmitic acid (16:0), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, systemic inflammatory markers, and dietary nutrients. Results: Multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical conditions, and lifestyle factors, showed that 22:0 and 24:0 levels were positively associated with better global cognitive function (β = 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01, 0.73; β = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.29, 1.2, respectively) as well as better CEARD-DR Z-score (β = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.36, 1.3 and β = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.63, 1.8, respectively). RCS analysis showed linear associations between higher 22:0 and 24:0 levels and better cognitive performance in both global cognitive function and CERAD-DR tests. Conclusions: The study suggests that higher levels of 22:0 and 24:0 are associated with better global cognitive function in older adults. 22:0 and 24:0 may be important biomarkers for recognizing cognitive impairment, and supplementation with specific VLSFAs (22:0 and 24:0) may be an important intervention to improve cognitive function. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms between VLSFAs and cognitive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human beings can show preferentially attentional bias to different facial expressions. However, it is unclear whether the modulation of selective attention by facial expressions is based on the face itself (object-based attention) or its location (space-based attention). This study aimed to test this problem by using faces with different emotional valences in the two-rectangle paradigm across three experiments. We found that there was no significant difference in space-based effect among the positive, neutral, and negative conditions. However, the object-based effect was larger for the negative condition than for the neutral and positive ones, because of its slower reaction times for the invalid different-object trials. The results indicated that the object-based attentional selection was modulated by facial expressions, and that faces expressing negative emotions hamper the disengagement of attention from the whole object (i.e., the face), instead of the certain location. Our study can further add support to the attentional prioritisation hypothesis over attentional spreading hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether motor inhibition impacts the motor interference effect of dangerous objects is controversial. Previous studies have manipulated task type and found that dangerous objects elicited increased motor inhibition compared to safe objects in the reachability judgment task but not in the categorization task. However, it was still unclear why motor inhibition was reduced for dangerous objects in the categorization task. We speculated that the activation strength of object affordance might modulate the occurrence of motor inhibition. To test this hypothesis, the present study designed a prime-target grasping consistency judgment task and manipulated target grips (power grip vs. precision grip), target dangerousness (dangerous vs. safe), and Go/NoGo (Go vs. NoGo). The results showed that under the condition of high activation strength of the target affordance (i.e., power grip targets), processing dangerous targets evoked increased motor inhibition (reflected by a more negative frontal N2 component) compared to safe targets and produced a motor interference effect in reaction time (RT). In contrast, under the condition of low target affordance activation strength (i.e., precision grip targets), processing dangerous targets facilitated RT compared to safe targets, with no difference found between the dangerous and safe conditions in the frontal N2 component. Furthermore, compared to safe objects, dangerous objects attracted more attention and recruited more cognitive resources to select appropriate responses to them. This study extended the findings of previous studies on the motor interference effect by highlighting the importance of activation strength for eliciting motor inhibition based on the prime-target consistency judgment task. • Whether motor inhibition impacts the motor interference effect of dangerous objects? • The activation strength of object affordance modulates the occurrence of motor inhibition. • Processing dangerous targets evokes motor inhibition under high activation strength condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heading date (flowering time), which greatly influences regional and seasonal adaptability in rice (Oryza sativa), is regulated by many genes in different photoperiod pathways. Here, we characterized a heading date gene, Early heading date 5 (Ehd5), using a modified bulked segregant analysis method. The ehd5 mutant showed late flowering under both short-day and long-day conditions, as well as reduced yield, compared to the wild type. Ehd5, which encodes a WD40 domain-containing protein, is induced by light and follows a circadian rhythm expression pattern. Transcriptome analysis revealed that Ehd5 acts upstream of the flowering genes Early heading date 1 (Ehd1), RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T 1 (RFT1), and Heading date 3a (Hd3a). Functional analysis showed that Ehd5 directly interacts with Rice outermost cell-specific gene 4 (Roc4) and Grain number, plant height, and heading date 8 (Ghd8), which might affect the formation of Ghd7–Ghd8 complexes, resulting in increased expression of Ehd1, Hd3a, and RFT1. In a nutshell, these results demonstrate that Ehd5 functions as a positive regulator of rice flowering and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying heading date. WD40 domain-containing protein Ehd5 promotes the expression of Early heading date 1 and Heading date 3a to regulate heading in rice (Oryza sativa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations play a role in carcinogenesis and are found in both tumors and cancer cell lines. TERT promoter methylation, transcription factor binding, chromatin remodeling, and alternative splicing are also known to play an integral role in TERT regulation. Methods: Using nanopore Cas9 targeted sequencing, we characterized allele-specific methylation in thyroid cancer cell lines heterozygous for the TERT promoter mutation. Furthermore, using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by Sanger sequencing, we probed allele-specific binding of the transcription factors GABPA (GA binding protein transcription factor subunit alpha) and MYC, as well as the chromatin marks H3K4me3 and H3K27me3. Finally, using coding single nucleotide polymorphisms and the long-read sequencing, we examined complementary DNA for monoallelic expression (MAE). Results: We found the mutant TERT promoter allele to be significantly less methylated than wild type, while more methylated in the gene body in heterozygous TERT mutant cell lines. We demonstrated that the transcriptional activators GABPA and MYC bind only to the mutant TERT allele. In addition, the activating and repressive chromatin marks H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, respectively, bind mutant and wild-type alleles exclusively. Finally, in heterozygous mutant cell lines, TERT exhibits MAE from the mutant allele only. Conclusions: In summary, by employing new long-read sequencing methods, we were able to definitively demonstrate allele-specific DNA methylation, histone modifications, transcription factor binding, and the resulting monoallelic transcription in cell lines with heterozygous TERT mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study adopted a primed target grasping-categorization task and selected pictures of animals as target stimuli to investigate whether motor inhibition influences the motor interference effect of dangerous animals. The results identified more positive P2 and P3 amplitudes accompanied by larger delta event-related synchronization in the dangerous condition than in the neutral condition, suggesting that compared to neutral animal targets, dangerous animal targets attracted increased attentional resources in early processing and that subjects recruited more cognitive resources to process dangerous animal targets than neutral animal targets. Moreover, the results identified larger theta event-related synchronization (reflecting motor inhibition) in the dangerous condition than in the neutral condition. Thus, the results suggested that prepared motor responses were inhibited to avoid touching dangerous animal targets in the current task, supporting that motor inhibition influences the motor interference effect of dangerous animals based on a primed target grasping-categorization task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on an in-plane thermal diffusivity study of suspended graphene powder (GP) measured by the transient electro-thermal (TET) technique. The GP with a density of 0.24 $$\hbox {g}\,\cdot \,\hbox {cm}^{-3}$$ is made up of five-six-layer graphene. And the average size of graphene flakes used in our study is 0.98 $$\upmu $$ m. The intrinsic thermal conductivity perpendicular to in-plane of GP is determined at 18.8 $$\hbox {W}\,\cdot \,(\hbox {m}\,\cdot \,\hbox {K})^{-1}$$ using the thermal conductivity instrument, and the range of the in-plane thermal diffusivity of GP is identified from $$0.86\times 10^{-5 }\,\hbox {m}^{2 }\,\cdot \,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ to $$1.52\times 10^{-5 }\,\hbox {m}^{2}\,\cdot \,\hbox {s}^{-1}$$ measured by the TET technique. Accordingly, the corresponding intrinsic thermal conductivity is 13.5 $$\hbox {W}\,\cdot \,(\hbox {m}\,\cdot \,\hbox {K})^{-1}$$ -23.8 $$\hbox {W}\,\cdot \,(\hbox {m}\,\cdot \,\hbox {K})^{-1}$$ . It is obvious that the two methods used in the experimental research on the intrinsic thermal conductivity of GP in different directions are not only the same order of magnitude but also have a maximum difference of only 5 $$\hbox {W}\,\cdot \,(\hbox {m}\,\cdot \,\hbox {K})^{-1}$$ . The results of our experiments are about one order of magnitude lower than those reported for four-five-layer graphene. There are various porosities in the whole sample after the compaction steps in the preparation of the samples, which gives rise to a large thermal contact resistance. And widely uneven surface defects observed under an optical microscope for the studied GP lead to substantial phonon scattering. Those factors combine together to give the observed significant reduction in the thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the Keggin-type phosphomolybdic acid (PMo 12) is immobilized in the cavities of Zirconium metal–organic framework (UiO-67) with suitable cage size and limited windows. The PMo 12 @UiO-67 nanocomposite is used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the epoxidation of olefin with excellent retrievability. [Display omitted] • The PMo 12 @UiO-67 nanocomposite is synthesized by the phosphomolybdic acid (PMo 12) as the guest and size-mathched UiO-67 as the host through one-step hydrothermal method. • The PMo 12 @UiO-67 nanocomposite exhibits excellent catalytic activity for the epoxidation of olefin, which could be easily regenerated and recycled for five times without significant loss of catalytic activity. Polyoxometalates (POMs) as the nanocomposites have been applied as the homogeneous catalyst for some organic reactions. Choosing an appropriate support for POMs is an effective approach to solve their low-stability. In this work, the Keggin-type phosphomolybdic acid (PMo 12) is immobilized in the cavities of Zirconium metal–organic framework (UiO-67) with suitable cage size and limited windows. The nanocomposite (PMo 12 @UiO-67) is used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the epoxidation of olefin with excellent retrievability. The above result would help us to develop more polyoxometalate-base heterogeneous catalyst for the epoxidation of olefin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), an important biomarker of human health, is impaired in cold environment compared to thermoneutral condition. The study aimed to investigate the role of metabolome response to acute exercise in regulation of CRF at different ambient temperatures. A total of 27 young adults were recruited, and each subject underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and a constant load submaximal exercise at both room temperature (25 °C) and cold temperature (0 °C). The serum samples were collected before and immediately after constant load exercise. Acute cold exposure decreased CRF by 41 %, accompanied by a metabolic shift to anaerobic respiration. It also decreased VO 2 and increased respiratory quotient during constant load exercise. Metabolome profiling revealed that acute exercise reprogrammed serum metabolome in an ambient temperature-dependent manner. Specifically, exercise increased a cluster of fatty acids during cold exposure, possibly due to impaired fatty acid oxidation. The correlations between metabolite responses to acute exercise and exercise parameters were analyzed using partial least squares regression and machine learning, revealing that metabolite responses to acute exercise were highly correlated with exercise parameters and predictive of CRF. Among the contributors, tryptophan and its metabolites stood out as important ones. These results suggested that the metabolite responses to acute submaximal exercise unmasks the exercise performance at different ambient temperatures, highlighting the role of metabolite orchestration in the physiological regulation of CRF. [Display omitted] • Acute exercise reprograms circulating metabolome in a temperature-dependent manner • Excursions in metabolites during exercise unmasks exercise capacity and performance • Tryptophan and its metabolites play a role in the physiological regulation of CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Low‐altitude aerial imaging, an approach that can collect large‐scale plant imagery, has grown in popularity recently. Amongst many phenotyping approaches, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) possess unique advantages as a consequence of their mobility, flexibility and affordability. Nevertheless, how to extract biologically relevant information effectively has remained challenging.Here, we present AirMeasurer, an open‐source and expandable platform that combines automated image analysis, machine learning and original algorithms to perform trait analysis using 2D/3D aerial imagery acquired by low‐cost UAVs in rice (Oryza sativa) trials.We applied the platform to study hundreds of rice landraces and recombinant inbred lines at two sites, from 2019 to 2021. A range of static and dynamic traits were quantified, including crop height, canopy coverage, vegetative indices and their growth rates. After verifying the reliability of AirMeasurer‐derived traits, we identified genetic variants associated with selected growth‐related traits using genome‐wide association study and quantitative trait loci mapping.We found that the AirMeasurer‐derived traits had led to reliable loci, some matched with published work, and others helped us to explore new candidate genes. Hence, we believe that our work demonstrates valuable advances in aerial phenotyping and automated 2D/3D trait analysis, providing high‐quality phenotypic information to empower genetic mapping for crop improvement. See also the Commentary on this article by Yang & Zhai, 236: 1229–1231. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bcscd1 is essential for cell wall rigidity. • Bcscd1 is important for resistance to biotic/abiotic stresses. The gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea produces dark-colored conidia and sclerotia due to deposition of melanin on the cell wall of these structures. However, the role of melanin biosynthesis on development and function of conidia and sclerotia have not been well elucidated in this fungus. This study disrupted the melanin biosynthesis gene Bcscd1 (for scytalone dehydratase) in the wild type B05.10, and the resulting mutants were compared with B05.10 and complementary mutants (COM) for growth and development, virulence and response to biotic/abiotic stresses. Three disruption mutants were obtained, and they did not differ from B05.10 and COM in mycelial growth rate on potato dextrose agar, however, they formed brownish conidia and scleotia deficient in melanogenesis, whereas B05.10 and COM formed grayish conidia and black sclerotia with normal melanogenesis. The disruption mutants were as aggressive as B05.10 and COM in infection of tobacco leaves. TEM observation showed that the disruption mutant ΔScd1-85 formed numerous tiny grooves in the conidial cell wall, thereby causing uneven thickness in the cell wall. In contrast, B05.10 and COM rarely formed tiny grooves in their conidial cell wall with even thickness. Moreover, the sclerotial cortex cell wall of ΔScd1-85 lost rigidity and the cells became collapsed, whereas the sclerotial cortex cell wall of B05.10 and COM appeared rigid, and the cells appeared plump in shape. The disruption mutants were more sensitive than B05.10 and COM in response to chemical stresses (H 2 O 2 , NaCl, SDS, sorbitol) for conidial germination and sclerotial survival. The sclerotia of the disruption mutants were more susceptible than the sclerotia of B05.10 and COM to infection by the mycoparasite Trichoderma koningiopsis. These results confirmed previous studies about the effect of melanin production on pathogenicity of B. cinerea , and expanded our knowledge about the role of Bcscd1 in cell wall integrity and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a widely used molecular tag to trace transplanted cells in rodent liver injury models. The differing results from various previously reported studies using GFP could be attributed to the immunogenicity of GFP. Methods: Hepatocytes were obtained from GFP-expressing transgenic (Tg) Lewis rats and were transplanted into the livers of wild-type Lewis rats after they had undergone a partial hepatectomy. The proliferation of endogenous hepatocytes in recipient rats was inhibited by pretreatment with retrorsine to enhance the proliferation of the transplanted hepatocytes. Transplantation of wild-type hepatocytes into GFP-Tg rat liver was also performed for comparison. Results: All biopsy specimens taken seven days after transplantation showed engraftment of transplanted hepatocytes, with the numbers of transplanted hepatocytes increasing until day 14. GFP-positive hepatocytes in wild-type rat livers were decreased by day 28 and could not be detected on day 42, whereas the number of wild-type hepatocytes steadily increased in GFP-Tg rat liver. Histological examination showed degenerative change of GFP-positive hepatocytes and the accumulation of infiltrating cells on day 28. PCR analysis for the GFP transgene suggested that transplanted hepatocytes were eliminated rather than being retained along with the loss of GFP expression. Both modification of the immunological response using tacrolimus and bone marrow transplantation prolonged the survival of GFP-positive hepatocytes. In contrast, host immunization with GFP-positive hepatocytes led to complete loss of GFP-positive hepatocytes by day 14. Conclusion: GFP-positive hepatocytes isolated from GFP-Tg Lewis rats did not survive long term in the livers of retrorsine-pretreated wild-type Lewis rats. The mechanism underlying this phenomenon most likely involves an immunological reaction against GFP. The influence of GFP immunogenicity on cell transplantation models should be considered in planning in vivo experiments using GFP and in interpreting their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convolutional Neural Networks have promoted development of the fault diagnosis in the machine prognostics and health management. However, the existing methods have limited applicability under strong noisy conditions. We propose an attention-based ConvNeXt with a parallel multiscale dilated convolution residual module for the rotor fault diagnosis. The parallel multiscale dilated convolution residual module is firstly introduced to filter noise and extract multiscale discriminative features intelligently. The multi-head attention module is then embedded in ConvNeXt for global discriminative features adaptively. Focal Loss is finally implemented for identifying hard-to-classify samples to further improve the diagnostic accuracy. The application results demonstrate the superiority and robustness of our method in two case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on renewable energy, we are devoted to developing efficient, robust and low-cost oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. A facile, environmentally benign and low-cost method was developed. Ethylene glycol as an inexpensive and non-toxic reducing agent was used to reduce cuprous oxide to synthesize a Cu2O–reduced graphene oxide (Cu2O–rGO) composite. This material changed the bond energy of the intermediate Cu–O of the OER under alkaline conditions, exhibiting good electrocatalytic oxygen generation performance. It is noteworthy that our research not only developed a method to prepare a Cu2O-based catalyst but also investigated the mechanism of action of the Cu2O–rGO composite. This will guide us to synthesise novel non-noble-metal catalysts develop their applications toward energy and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Interstitial fluid flow, generated upon induced movement of extracellular fluid after mechanical loading, activates many signal transduction pathways in bone cells. The mechanisms of mechanobiology in bone tissue are still not clearly understood. Recently focal adhesion kinase (FAK) was shown to be involved in mechanotransduction in a number of cells. This study was designed to characterize the functional roles of FAK in mediating osteoblast response to mechanical steady-state fluid shear stress (FSS). We reported here that FSS (15dynes/cm2) induced activation of FAK and formation of FAK·Grb2·Sos ternary complex in MG-63 cells, which was necessary for activation of the downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway signaling molecules extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Our results also showed that transfection of FAK (F397Y) plasmid, a negative mutant of FAK, blocked the increased expression of binding factor alpha 1, osterix, osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase induced by FSS in MG-63 cells. These results demonstrate that FAK signaling is critical for FSS-induced activation of ERK and JNK, and for promotion of osteoblast differentiation and osteogenesis via its association with Grb2/Sos complex. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]