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Oaks (Quercus spp.) are considered as model plants for studying plant evolution and natural gene introgression. However, interspecific hybridization often occurred in sympatric sibling specie, resulting in blurred interspecific boundaries and hindering the development of breeding. Beijing area is at the junction between Taihang Mountain and Yanshan Mountain. It is a key area for deciduous oaks native to China and an overlapping area of several oaks. It is urgently necessary to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of the 4 deciduous oak species to understand the degree of gene introgression and to screen out ideal breeding materials. In this study, we collected 11 populations of 4 oak species (Q. variabilis, Q. mongolica, Q. dentata and Q. aliena) in the junction between Taihang Mountain and Yanshan Mountain. By using the polymorphic SSR markers, we analyzed the genetic variation of the collected 400 individuals and investigated the population structure and found gene introgression events. Q. variabilis had a clearer genetic background as compared to the other three species and the artificial population of Q. variabilis might have been transplanted from other regions outside Beijing. Q. mongolica had a more frequent gene introgression with Q. dentata and Q. aliena in this area. In addition, our results provided DNA fingerprints of the sampled 40 individuals according 9 SSR markers. This research reported useful SSR data for analyzing the genetic variation of oak species native to China, laying the foundation of whole genome sequencing and conducting an oak germplasm nursery with clear genetic background.

During heart maturation, gap junctions assemble into hemichannels and polarize to the intercalated disc at cell borders to mediate electrical impulse conduction. However, the molecular mechanism underpinning cardiac gap junction assembly remains elusive. Herein, we demonstrate an important role for the deubiquitinating enzyme cylindromatosis (CYLD) in this process. Depletion of CYLD in mice impairs the formation of cardiac gap junctions, accelerates cardiac fibrosis, and increases heart failure. Mechanistically, CYLD interacts with plakoglobin and removes lysine 63-linked polyubiquitin chains from plakoglobin. The deubiquitination of plakoglobin enhances its interaction with the desmoplakin/end-binding protein 1 complex localized at the microtubule plus end, thereby promoting microtubule-dependent transport of connexin 43 (Cx43), a key component of gap junctions, to the cell membrane. These findings establish CYLD as a critical player in regulating gap junction assembly and have important implications in heart development and diseases.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), characterized with a suitable bandgap, has aroused great interest as a robust and efficient catalyst for solar energy utilization. Herein, we introduce a new strategy to fabricate a three-dimensional (3D) porous g-C3N4 by a facile NaCl-assisted ball-milling strategy. The porous structure-induced advantages, such as a higher specific surface area, more efficient charge separation, and faster electron-transfer efficiency, enable the 3D porous g-C3N4 to achieve impressive properties as a bifunctional catalyst for both photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). As a result, the 3D porous g-C3N4 exhibits a hydrogen evolution rate of 598 μmol h-1 g-1 with an apparent quantum yield of 3.31% at 420 nm for photocatalytic H2 generation, which is much higher than that of the bulk g-C3N4. Simultaneously, the porous g-C3N4 also presents an attractive OER performance with a low onset potential of 1.47 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) in an alkaline electrolyte after rational cobalt-doping. Accordingly, the NaCl-assisted ball-milling strategy paves the way to the rational design of a controllable porous structure.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly polarized epithelial monolayer lying between the photoreceptor layer and the Bruch membrane. It is essential for vision through participating in many critical activities, including phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments, recycling the visual cycle‐related compounds, forming a barrier to control the transport of nutrients, ions, and water, and the removal of waste. Primary cilia are conservatively present in almost all the vertebrate cells and acts as a sensory organelle to control tissue development and homeostasis maintenance. Numerous studies reveal that abnormalities in RPE lead to various retinal diseases, such as age‐related macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema, but the mechanism of primary cilia in these physiological and pathological activities remains to be elucidated. Herein, we summarize the functions of primary cilia in the RPE development and the mutations of ciliary genes identified in RPE‐related diseases. By highlighting the significance of primary cilia in regulating the physiological and pathological processes of RPE, we aim to provide novel insights for the treatment of RPE‐related retinal diseases.

Zhang et al. identify new synaptonemal complex (SC) central region proteins SYP-5 and SYP-6 in Caenorhabditis elegans and show that SC central region proteins form assembly units through stable interactions and weak interactions between the units that drive SC formation., The synaptonemal complex (SC) is an ordered but highly dynamic structure assembled between homologous chromosomes to control interhomologous crossover formation, ensuring accurate meiotic chromosome segregation. However, the mechanisms regulating SC assembly and dynamics remain unclear. Here, we identified two new SC components, SYP-5 and SYP-6, in Caenorhabditis elegans that have distinct expression patterns and form distinct SC assembly units with other SYPs through stable interactions. SYP-5 and SYP-6 exhibit diverse in vivo SC regulatory functions and distinct phase separation properties in cells. Charge-interacting elements (CIEs) are enriched in SC intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), and IDR deletion or CIE removal confirmed a requirement for these elements in SC regulation. Our data support the theory that multivalent weak interactions between the SC units drive SC formation and that CIEs confer multivalency to the assembly units.

Manipulating the crystal phase has been proved to be a crucial strategy to access metastable structures with desirable properties. For nickel and cobalt hydroxides, the α-phase with enhanced electrochemical performance is more unstable than the β-phase, which limits its technological applications in hybrid supercapacitors. Here, a facile solvent regulated method for phase control of two-dimensional nickel and cobalt hydroxide is firstly developed, and the α-phase nickel and cobalt hydroxides can be stably obtained. Significantly, the phase control process can be simply achieved by varying the solvents between ethylene glycol (Eg) and ethanol (Et). Notably, the obtained α-phase nickel-cobalt hydroxide can deliver an impressive specific capacitance of 2366.6 F g−1 (1 A g−1), which is almost 13.4 times higher than β-Co(OH)2. Moreover, α-phase nickel-cobalt hydroxide||activated carbon hybrid supercapacitor exhibits a maximum energy density of 38.5 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 800 W kg−1. This work provide an important strategy for phase control of nickel and cobalt hydroxides, and the excellent electrochemical performance presented by α-phase nickel-cobalt hydroxide demonstrates its promising application for high performance hybrid supercapacitors.

Halophytes are plants that exhibit high salt tolerance, allowing them to survive and thrive under extremely saline conditions. The study of halophytes advances our understanding about the important adaptations that are required for survival in high salinity conditions, including secretion of salt through the salt glands, regulation of cellular ion homeostasis and osmotic pressure, detoxification of reactive oxygen species, and alterations in membrane composition. To explore the mechanisms that contribute to tolerance to salt stress, salt-responsive genes have been isolated from halophytes and expressed in non-salt tolerant plants using targeted transgenic technologies. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms that underpin salt tolerance in different halophytes.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a widely existed endocrine disruptor, has been concerned for many years owing to its toxicity in male reproductive development. In this study, we investigated the reproductive effects and the mechanism of mouse testis after in uterus exposure to the plasticizer DEHP. We found that the UPR signaling pathway could be fully activated after DEHP treatment. In uterus DEHP exposure significantly increased abnormal morphology seminiferous tubules, expanded the distance between the tubules as well as caused abnormal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) ultrastructure, which could be reversed by 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA), an ER stress inhibitor. In addition, DEHP-induced ER stress pathway promoted a decline in protein expression, including cadherin protein N-cadherin in testis, which could also be reversed by 4-PBA. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that the ER stress would be a novel significant mechanism responsible for DEHP-induced the increased the distance between seminiferous tubule by reducing the N-cadherin expression.

The development of gas sensing devices with high sensitivity, good selectivity and excellent stability is becoming increasingly important since toxic or harmful gases are a threat to human health. Herein, we report a simple grinding-calcination method to prepare high-performance gas sensing materials based on a novel Co3O4–In2O3 heterojunction structure. Particularly, morphological and structural analyses indicate that the n-type In2O3 and p-type Co3O4 semiconductors are successfully combined and form a stable heterojunction structure through only a simple grinding-calcination process, in which electrons transfer from n-type In2O3 to p-type Co3O4 and then combine with holes belonging to Co3O4 nanoparticles, which can explain the formation mechanism of the electron depletion layer or the unique heterojunction structure. Interestingly, the sensing materials based on the Co3O4–In2O3 heterojunction exhibit excellent sensing properties to ethanol. This enhanced sensing performance can be attributed to the electron depletion layer formed at the interface between n-type In2O3 and p-type Co3O4. Particularly, the sensing device based on the Co3O4–In2O3 heterojunction structure with 1 wt% Co3O4 (labeled Co3O4–In2O3 (1%)) in the composite system shows a very high gas response to ethanol (approximately 62.13 at 240 °C, which is 1.36 times higher than that of pure In2O3 and 11.4 times higher than that of pure Co3O4). Moreover, the Co3O4–In2O3 (1%) sensing device shows an extremely low detection limit to ethanol (the gas response value can reach up to 4.4 to 5 ppm of ethanol, which is 1.43 times higher than that of pure In2O3). Furthermore, the fast response and recovery time (42 and 92 s, respectively), high selectivity and high stability presented by the Co3O4–In2O3 heterojunction display its great potential in the design of excellent gas sensing materials for practical gas detection.

The development of convenient method to obtain graphene-based nanocomposites is a key issue for their application. Herein, we described a facile route for synthesizing graphene-Cu and graphene-Cu2O nanocomposites using graphene oxide-CuO as a precursor. Remarkably, the different nanocomposites could be formed just by varying the reaction temperature and time. This work provides a feasible route for the preparation of graphene-based nanocomposites with various constituents.

Graphene and its functionalized derivatives like graphene oxide (GO) have become handy and convenient building blocks for self-assembly to fabricate graphene-based functional materials with three-dimensional (3D) macroscopic structures. Herein, a convenient one-step hydrothermal method for preparing Ni(OH)2/graphene composite hydrogels (NGHs) with interconnected networks is described. This procedure includes the reduction of GO sheets by hydrazine and the in situ deposition of Ni(OH)2 nanoplates on graphene sheets. Notably, the obtained NGH7.5 (the calculated mass ratio of formed Ni(OH)2 with GO is 7.5 : 1) can offer a high specific capacitance of 1125.4 F g−1 at a charge/discharge rate of 0.5 A g−1, which is almost 2.2 times and 8.1 times higher than Ni(OH)2 and graphene, respectively. Meanwhile, the NGHs also present stable cycling performances with 87.3% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles, which are significantly higher than that of its counterparts of Ni(OH)2. More interestingly, the 3D structure of the NGH can be easily transmitted to NiO/graphene (NiO/G) composites utilizing a facile thermal treatment procedure. The electrode based on the NiO/G composite delivers a discharge capacity of 1349 mA h g−1 and a charge capacity of 992 mA h g−1 at the 1st cycle with a coulombic efficiency of about 73.5%. This work opens a considerable way to fabricate functional graphene-based 3D structures and their composite materials, and makes a significant contribution to energy storage/conversion from alternative energy sources.

The Apolipoprotein (Apo) family is implicated in lipid metabolism. There are five types ofApo:Apoa,Apob,Apoc,Apod, andApoe.Apoehas been demonstrated to play a central role in lipoprotein metabolism and to be essential for efficient receptor-mediated plasma clearance of chylomicron remnants and VLDL remnant particles by the liver.Apoe-deficient (Apoe−/−) mice develop atherosclerotic plaques spontaneously, followed by obesity. In this study, we investigated whether lipid deposition caused byApoeknockout affects reproduction in female mice. The results demonstrated thatApoe−/−mice were severely hypercholesterolemic, with their cholesterol metabolism disordered, and lipid accumulating in the ovaries causing the ovaries to be heavier compared with the WT counterparts. In addition, estrogen and progesterone decreased significantly at D 100. Quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated that at D 100 the expression of cytochromeP450 aromatase (Cyp19a1), 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (Hsd3b), mechanistic target of rapamycin (Mtor), and nuclear factor-κB (Nfkb) decreased significantly, while that of BCL2-associated agonist of cell death (Bad) and tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (Tsc2) increased significantly in theApoe−/−mice. However, there was no difference in the fertility rates of theApoe−/−and WT mice; that is, obesity induced byApoeknockout has no significant effect on reproduction. However, the deletion ofApoeincreased the number of ovarian follicles and the ratio of ovarian follicle atresia and apoptosis. We believe that this work will augment our understanding of the role ofApoein reproduction.

Graphene and its composite hydrogels with interconnected three-dimensional (3D) structure have raised continuous attention in energy storage. Herein, we describe a simple hydrothermal strategy to synthesize 3D CoS/graphene composite hydrogel (CGH), which contains the reduction of GO sheets and anchoring of CoS nanoparticles on graphene sheets. The formed special 3D structure endows this composite with high electrochemical performance. Remarkably, the obtained 3D CGH exhibits high specific capacitance (Cs) of 564 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 (about 1.3 times higher than pure CoS), superior rate capability and high stability. It is worth mentioning that this methodology is readily adaptable to decorating CoS nanoparticles onto graphene sheets and may be extended to the preparation of other pseudocapacitive materials based on graphene hydrogels for electrochemical applications.

With the increasing of wind turbine unit capacity, heat load of thermal dissipation components of the unit increase greatly. In order to make the unit long-term stably and efficiency operation, the research and development of cooling system with high efficiency and low energy consumption become particularly important. The main sources of waste heat and the widely used six kinds of cooling technology was described. Also there is a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of each one, and the gravity heat pipe was designed which is instead of the above cooling systems. This cooling technology have high heat transfer efficiency and no cooling medium delivery device and simple structure and low initial investment and operating costs.

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene-based composite materials have attracted increasing attention, owing to their specific surface area, high conductivity and electronic interactions. Here, we report a convenient route to fabricate a 3D Co3O4/Graphene Hydrogel (CGH) composite as an electrode material for supercapacitors. Utilizing the gelation of a graphene oxide dispersion enables the anchoring of Co3O4 nanoparticles on the graphene sheet surfaces and formation of the hydrogel simultaneously. Remarkably, the spherical Co3O4 particles can serve as spacers to keep the neighboring graphene sheets separated. The CGH exhibits a high specific capacitance (Cs) of 757.5 F g(-1) at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1), indicating its potential application as an electrode material for supercapacitors.

Facing to the high dimensional data, how to deal them well is the most difficult problem in the field of machine learning, pattern recognition and the relative fields. In this paper, we propose a new semi-supervised multi-view learning method, which partition or select the abundant attributes (called attribute partition or attribute selection) into subsets. We consider each subset as a view and on each subset train a classifier to label the unlabeled examples. Based on the ensemble learning, we combine their predictions to classify the unlabeled examples. The semi-supervised learning idea is that to make use of the large number unlabeled example to modify the classifiers iteratively. Experiments on UCI datasets show that this method is feasible and can improve the efficiency. Both theoretical analysis and experiments show that the proposed method has excellent accuracy and speed of classification.

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