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Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the causative agent of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is a major global health concern with nearly 40 million individuals infected worldwide and no widely accessible cure. Despite intensive efforts, a detailed understanding of virus and host cell interactions in tissues during infection and in response to therapy remains incomplete. To address these limitations, water-based tissue clearing techniques CUBIC (Clear, Unobstructed Brain/Body Imaging Cocktails and Computational analysis) and CLARITY (Clear Lipid-exchanged Acrylamide-hybridized Rigid Imaging/Immunostaining/in situ-hybridization-compatible Tissue hYdrogel) are applied to visualize complex virus host-cell interactions in HIV-infected tissues from animal models and humans using confocal and light sheet fluorescence microscopy. Optical sectioning of intact tissues and image analysis allows rapid reconstruction of spatial information contained within whole tissues and quantification of immune cell populations during infection. These methods are applicable to most tissue sources and diverse biological questions, including infectious disease and cancer.

With the acceleration of technological progress, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become one of the indispensable forms of energy in modern life and play a crucial role. However, its performance degradation in low-temperature environments remains a key factor restricting its further development. In particular, as the core components of LIBs, the stability of electrodes and electrolytes at low temperatures directly determines the overall performance of the battery. Specifically, the fluidity of the electrolyte is significantly reduced at low temperatures, while lithium-ions at the negative electrode are more easily precipitated, leading to the formation of lithium dendrites, which together affect the safety and life of the battery. This paper systematically analyses the latest advances in structure regulation and design of anode materials and electrolytes through an in-depth study of the low-temperature stability of LIBs. Modification methods for these key materials are described in detail, including strategies for optimising electrolyte additives and their positive effects on enhancing battery performance at low temperatures. In addition, the article discusses potential directions for future research in this area, aiming to provide guidance and reference for improving the performance of LIBs for applications in low-temperature environments.

Development of multi-component blends to prepare high-performance polymer materials is still challenging, and is a key technology for mechanical recycling of waste plastics. However, a multi-phase compatibilizer is prerequisite to create high-performance multi-component blends. In this study, POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and SEBS-g-(MAH-co-St) compatibilizers are prepared via melt-grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) and styrene (St) dual monomers to polyolefin elastomer (POE) and poly [styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] (SEBS), respectively. Subsequently, these compatibilizers are utilized to compatibilize the PA6/PP/ABS/SEBS quaternary blends through melt-blending. When POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and SEBS-g-(MAH-co-St) are added, respectively, both can promote the distribution of the dispersed phases, significantly reducing the dispersed phase size. When adding 10 wt% POE-g-(MAH-co-St) and 10 wt% SEBS-g-(MAH-co-St) together, compared to the non-compatibilized blend, the fracture strength, fracture elongation, and impact strength surprisingly increased by 106%, 593%, and 823%, respectively. It can be attributed to the hierarchical interfacial interactions which facilitate gradual energy dissipation from weak to strong interfaces, resulting in the improvement of mechanical properties. The synergistic effect of the enhanced phase interfacial interactions and toughening effect of elastomer compatibilizer achieved simultaneous growth in strength and toughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breeding abiotic stress-tolerant varieties of Rosa chinensis is a paramount goal in horticulture. WRKY transcription factors, pivotal in plant responses to diverse stressors, offer potential targets for enhancing stress resilience in R. chinensis. Using bioinformatics and genomic data, we identified RcWRKY transcription factor genes, characterised their chromosomal distribution, phylogenetic relationships, structural attributes, collinearity, and expression patterns in response to saline stress. Leveraging bidirectional database searches, we pinpointed 66 RcWRKY genes, categorised into three groups. All except RcWRKY60 encoded DNA Binding Domain and Zinc Finger Motif regions of the WRKY domain. Expansion of the RcWRKY gene family was propelled by 19 segmental, and 2 tandem, duplications. We unveiled 41 and 15 RcWRKY genes corresponding to 50 AtWRKY and 17 OsWRKY orthologs respectively, indicating postdivergence expansion. Expression analyses under alkaline stress pinpointed significant alterations in 54 RcWRKY genes. Integration of functional roles from their Arabidopsis orthologs and cis -acting elements within their promoters, along with quantitative reverse transcription PCR validation, underscored the importance of RcWRKY27 and 29 in R. chinensis ' alkaline stress response. These findings offer insights into the biological roles of RcWRKY transcription factors, as well as the regulatory dynamics governing R. chinensis ' growth, development, and stress resilience. The China rose (Rosa chinensis) is known as the 'queen of flowers', and is commercially cultivated globally. To enable breeders to develop varieties tolerant to alkaline soils, we investigated the genes involved in their stress response. This research will also contribute to the broader understanding of plant stress responses and offer potential avenues for enhancing stress tolerance in crop species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]