The molecular biology of FMRP: new insights into fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) is the product of the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene (FMR1), a gene that - when epigenetically inactivated by a triplet nucleotide repeat expansion - causes the neurodevelopmental disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS). FMRP is a widely expressed RNA-binding protein with activity that is essential for proper synaptic plasticity and architecture, aspects of neural function that are known to go awry in FXS. Although the neurophysiology of FXS has been described in remarkable detail, research focusing on the molecular biology of FMRP has only scratched the surface. For more than two decades, FMRP has been well established as a translational repressor; however, recent whole transcriptome and translatome analyses in mouse and human models of FXS have shown that FMRP is involved in the regulation of nearly all aspects of gene expression. The emerging mechanistic details of the mechanisms by which FMRP regulates gene expression may offer ways to design new therapies for FXS.

Re-formation of synaptic connectivity in dissociated human stem cell-derived retinal organoid cultures.

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived retinal organoids (ROs) can efficiently and reproducibly generate retinal neurons that have potential for use in cell replacement strategies [Capowski et al., Development 146, dev171686 (2019)]. The ability of these lab-grown retinal neurons to form new synaptic connections after dissociation from ROs is key to building confidence in their capacity to restore visual function. However, direct evidence of reestablishment of retinal neuron connectivity via synaptic tracing has not been reported to date. The present study employs an in vitro, rabies virus-based, monosynaptic retrograde tracing assay [Wickersham et al., Neuron 53, 639-647 (2007); Sun et al., Mol. Neurodegener. 14, 8 (2019)] to identify de novo synaptic connections among early retinal cell types following RO dissociation. A reproducible, high-throughput approach for labeling and quantifying traced retinal cell types was developed. Photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells-the primary neurons of interest for retinal cell replacement-were the two major contributing populations among the traced presynaptic cells. This system provides a platform for assessing synaptic connections in cultured retinal neurons and sets the stage for future cell replacement studies aimed at characterizing or enhancing synaptogenesis. Used in this manner, in vitro synaptic tracing is envisioned to complement traditional preclinical animal model testing, which is limited by evolutionary incompatibilities in synaptic machinery inherent to human xenografts.

eccDNA Atlas: a comprehensive resource of eccDNA catalog.

Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) represents a large category of non-mitochondrial and non-plasmid circular extrachromosomal DNA, playing an indispensable role in various aspects such as tumorigenesis, immune responses. However, the information of characteristics and functions about eccDNA is fragmented, hiding behind abundant literatures and massive whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data, which has not been sufficiently used for the identification of eccDNAs. Therefore, establishing an integrated repository portal is essential for identifying and analyzing eccDNAs. Here, we developed eccDNA Atlas (http://lcbb.swjtu.edu.cn/eccDNAatlas), a user-friendly database of eccDNAs that aims to provide a high-quality and integrated resource for browsing, searching and analyzing eccDNAs from multiple species. eccDNA Atlas currently contains 629 987 eccDNAs and 8221 ecDNAs manually curated from literatures and 1105 ecDNAs predicted by AmpliconArchitect based on WGS data involved in 66 diseases, 57 tissues and 319 cell lines. The content of each eccDNA entry includes multiple aspects such as sequence, disease, function, characteristic, validation strategies. Furthermore, abundant annotations and analyzing utilities were provided to explore existing eccDNAs in eccDNA Atlas or user-defined eccDNAs including oncogenes, typical enhancers, super enhancers, CTCF-binding sites, SNPs, chromatin accessibility, eQTLs, gene expression, survival and genome visualization. Overall, eccDNA Atlas provides an integrated eccDNA data warehouse and serves as an important tool for future research.

Cognitive and neural mechanisms of voluntary versus forced language switching in Chinese-English bilinguals: an fMRI study.

The ecological validity of bilingual code-switching has garnered increasing attention in recent years. Contrary to traditional studies that have focused on forced language switching, emerging theories posit that voluntary switching may not incur such a cost. To test these claims and understand differences between forced and voluntary switching, the present study conducted a systematic comparison through both behavioral and neural perspectives. Utilizing fMRI alongside picture-naming tasks, our findings diverge from prior work. Voluntary language switching not only demonstrated switching costs at the behavioral level but also significantly activated brain regions associated with inhibitory control. Direct comparisons of voluntary and forced language switching revealed no significant behavioral differences in switching costs, and both shared several common brain regions that were activated. On the other hand, a nuanced difference between the two types of language switching was revealed by whole-brain analysis: voluntary switching engaged fewer language control regions than forced switching. These findings offer a comprehensive view of the neural and behavioral dynamics involved in bilingual language switching, challenging prior claims that voluntary switching imposes no behavioral or neural costs, and thus providing behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for the involvement of inhibitory control in voluntary language switching.

Chemical Bath Deposited Antimony Oxide Thin Films for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

The metal oxide electron transport layers (ETLs) of n-i-p perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are dominated by TiO2 and SnO2, while the efficacy of the other metal oxide ETLs still lags far behind. Herein, an emerging, economical, and environmentally friendly metal oxide, antimony oxide (Sb2Ox, x = 2.17), prepared by chemical bath deposition is reported as an alternative ETL for PSCs. The deposited Sb2Ox film is amorphous and very thin (∼10 nm) but conformal on rough fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates, showing matched energy levels, efficient electron extraction, and then reduced nonradiative recombination in PSCs. The champion PSC based on the Sb2Ox ETL delivers an impressive power conversion efficiency of 24.7% under one sun illumination, which represents the state-of-the-art performance of all metal oxide ETL-based PSCs. Additionally, the Sb2Ox-based devices show improved operational and thermal stability compared to their SnO2-based counterparts. Armed with these findings, we believe this work offers an optional ETL for perovskites-based optoelectronic devices.

Circumvention of Topoisomerase IIα Intron 19 Intronic Polyadenylation in Acquired Etoposide-Resistant Human Leukemia K562 Cells.

DNA topoisomerase IIα (TOP2α; 170 kDa, TOP2α/170) is an essential enzyme for proper chromosome dysjunction by producing transient DNA double-stranded breaks and is an important target for DNA damage-stabilizing anticancer agents, such as etoposide. Therapeutic effects of TOP2α poisons can be limited due to acquired drug resistance. We previously demonstrated decreased TOP2α/170 levels in an etoposide-resistant human leukemia K562 subline, designated K/VP.5, accompanied by increased expression of a C-terminal truncated TOP2α isoform (90 kDa; TOP2α/90), which heterodimerized with TOP2α/170 and was a determinant of resistance by exhibiting dominant-negative effects against etoposide activity. Based on 3'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends, we confirmed TOP2α/90 as the translation product of a TOP2α mRNA in which a cryptic polyadenylation site (PAS) harbored in intron 19 (I19) was used. In this report, we investigated whether the resultant intronic polyadenylation (IPA) would be attenuated by blocking or mutating the I19 PAS, thereby circumventing acquired drug resistance. An antisense morpholino oligonucleotide was used to hybridize/block the PAS in TOP2α pre-mRNA in K/VP.5 cells, resulting in decreased TOP2α/90 mRNA/protein levels in K/VP.5 cells and partially circumventing drug resistance. Subsequently, CRISPR/CRISPR-associated protein 9 with homology-directed repair was used to mutate the cryptic I19 PAS (AATAAA→ACCCAA) to prevent IPA. Gene-edited clones exhibited increased TOP2α/170 and decreased TOP2α/90 mRNA/protein and demonstrated restored sensitivity to etoposide and other TOP2α-targeted drugs. Together, results indicated that blocking/mutating a cryptic I19 PAS in K/VP.5 cells reduced IPA and restored sensitivity to TOP2α-targeting drugs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The results presented in this study indicate that CRISPR/CRISPR-associated protein 9 gene editing of a cryptic polyadenylation site (PAS) within I19 of the TOP2α gene results in the reversal of acquired resistance to etoposide and other TOP2-targeted drugs. An antisense morpholino oligonucleotide targeting the PAS also partially circumvented resistance.

Bilirubin ameliorates osteoarthritis via activating Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and suppressing NF-κB signalling.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease that affects worldwide. Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the chronic inflammation and OA progression. Scavenging overproduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) could be rational strategy for OA treatment. Bilirubin (BR) is a potent endogenous antioxidant that can scavenge various ROS and also exhibit anti-inflammatory effects. However, whether BR could exert protection on chondrocytes for OA treatment has not yet been elucidated. Here, chondrocytes were exposed to hydrogen peroxide with or without BR treatment. The cell viability was assessed, and the intracellular ROS, inflammation cytokines were monitored to indicate the state of chondrocytes. In addition, BR was also tested on LPS-treated Raw264.7 cells to test the anti-inflammation property. An in vitro bimimic OA microenvironment was constructed by LPS-treated Raw264.7 and chondrocytes, and BR also exert certain protection for chondrocytes by activating Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and suppressing NF-κB signalling. An ACLT-induced OA model was constructed to test the in vivo therapeutic efficacy of BR. Compared to the clinical used HA, BR significantly reduced cartilage degeneration and delayed OA progression. Overall, our data shows that BR has a protective effect on chondrocytes and can delay OA progression caused by oxidative stress.

Fast Organic Cation Exchange in Colloidal Perovskite Quantum Dots toward Functional Optoelectronic Applications.

Colloidal quantum dots with lower surface ligand density are desired for preparing the active layer for photovoltaic, lighting, and other potential optoelectronic applications. In emerging perovskite quantum dots (PQDs), the diffusion of cations is thought to have a high energy barrier, relative to that of halide anions. Herein, we investigate the fast cross cation exchange approach in colloidal lead triiodide PQDs containing methylammonium (MA+) and formamidinium (FA+) organic cations, which exhibits a significantly lower exchange barrier than inorganic cesium (Cs+)-FA+ and Cs+-MA+ systems. First-principles calculations further suggest that the fast internal cation diffusion arises due to a lowering in structural distortions and the consequent decline in attractive cation-cation and cation-anion interactions in the presence of organic cation vacancies in mixed MA+-FA+ PQDs. Combining both experimental and theoretical evidence, we propose a vacancy-assisted exchange model to understand the impact of structural features and intermolecular interaction in PQDs with fewer surface ligands. Finally, for a realistic outcome, the as-prepared mixed-cation PQDs display better photostability and can be directly applied for one-step coated photovoltaic and photodetector devices, achieving a high photovoltaic efficiency of 15.05% using MA0.5FA0.5PbI3 PQDs and more precisely tunable detective spectral response from visible to near-infrared regions.

Superconductivity and Charge-Density-Wave-Like Transition in Th2Cu4As5.

We report the synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of a novel ternary compound, Th2Cu4As5. The material crystallizes in a tetragonal structure with lattice parameters a = 4.0639(3) Å and c = 24.8221(17) Å. Its structure can be described as an alternating stacking of fluorite-type Th2As2 layers with antifluorite-type double-layered Cu4As3 slabs. The measurement of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat reveals that Th2Cu4As5 undergoes bulk superconducting transition at 4.2 K. Additionally, all these physical quantities exhibit anomalies at 48 K, accompanied by a sign change in the Hall coefficient, suggesting a charge-density-wave-like (CDW) phase transition. Drawing from both experimental data and band calculations, we propose that the superconducting and CDW-like phase transitions are, respectively, associated with the Cu4As3 slabs and the As plane in the Th2As2 layers.

Proteomics insights into fragile X syndrome: Unraveling molecular mechanisms and therapeutic avenues.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by cognitive impairment, behavioral challenges, and synaptic abnormalities, with a genetic basis linked to a mutation in the FMR1 (Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1) gene that results in a deficiency or absence of its protein product, Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein (FMRP). In recent years, mass spectrometry (MS) - based proteomics has emerged as a powerful tool to uncover the complex molecular landscape underlying FXS. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the proteomics studies focused on FXS, summarizing key findings with an emphasis on dysregulated proteins associated with FXS. These proteins span a wide range of cellular functions including, but not limited to, synaptic plasticity, RNA translation, and mitochondrial function. The work conducted in these proteomic studies provides a more holistic understanding to the molecular pathways involved in FXS and considerably enhances our knowledge into the synaptic dysfunction seen in FXS.

Regression of Liver Fibrosis in Patients on Hepatitis B Therapy Is Associated With Decreased Liver-Related Events.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B can regress with successful antiviral therapy. However, the long-term clinical benefits of fibrosis regression have not been fully elucidated. This study investigated the association between biopsy-proven fibrosis regression by predominantly progressive, indeterminate, and predominantly regressive (P-I-R) score and liver-related events (LREs) in chronic hepatitis B patients. METHODS: Patients with on-treatment liver biopsy and significant fibrosis/cirrhosis (Ishak stage ≥3) were included in this analysis. Fibrosis regression was evaluated according to the P-I-R score of the Beijing Classification. LREs were defined as decompensations, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver transplantation, or death. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine associations of fibrosis regression with LREs. RESULTS: A total of 733 patients with Ishak stages 3/4 (n = 456; 62.2%) and cirrhosis (Ishak stages 5/6; n = 277; 37.8%) by on-treatment liver biopsy were enrolled. According to the P-I-R score, fibrosis regression, indeterminate, and progression were observed in 314 (42.8%), 230 (31.4%), and 189 (25.8%) patients, respectively. The 7-year cumulative incidence of LREs was 4.1%, 8.7%, and 18.1% in regression, indeterminate, and progression, respectively (log-rank, P < .001). Compared with patients with fibrosis progression, those with fibrosis regression had a lower risk of LREs (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.16-0.99; P = .047), followed by the indeterminate group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.40-1.85; P = .691). Notably, this favorable association also was observed in patients with cirrhosis or low platelet counts (<150 × 109/L). CONCLUSIONS: Antiviral therapy-induced liver fibrosis regression assessed by P-I-R score is associated with reduced LREs. This shows the utility of histologic fibrosis regression assessed by on-treatment P-I-R score as a surrogate endpoint for clinical events in patients with hepatitis B virus-related fibrosis or early cirrhosis.

Fiber-Optic Photoacoustic Gas Microsensor Dual Enhanced by Helmholtz Resonator and Interferometric Cantilever.

A high-sensitivity fiber-optic photoacoustic (PA) gas microsensor is demonstrated with dual enhancement based on acoustics and detection. Due to the characteristic of small size, a Helmholtz resonator is integrated into a miniature PA sensor. The acoustically amplified PA signal is detected by a high-sensitivity fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) interferometric cantilever. The first-order resonant frequencies of the interferometric cantilever and Helmholtz resonator are matched by subtle adjustments. The weak PA signal is significantly enhanced in a volume of only 0.35 mL, which breaks the volume limitation of the resonance modes in traditional PA sensing systems. To improve the resolution of the microsensor, a white light interferometry (WLI)-based spectral demodulation algorithm is utilized. The experimental results indicate that the minimum detection limit of acetylene (C2H2) drops to about 15 ppb with an averaging time of 100 s, corresponding to the normalized noise equivalent absorption (NNEA) coefficient of 2.7 × 10-9 W·cm-1·Hz-1/2. The dual resonance enhanced fiber-optic PA gas microsensor has the merits of high sensitivity, intrinsic safety, and compact structure.

Pressure-Compensated Fiber-Optic Photoacoustic Sensors for Trace SO2 Analysis in Gas Insulation Equipment.

A high-sensitivity fiber-optic photoacoustic sensor with pressure compensation is proposed to analyze the decomposition component SO2 in high-pressure gas insulation equipment. The multiple influence mechanism of pressure on photoacoustic excitation and cantilever detection has been theoretically analyzed and verified. In the high-pressure environment, the excited photoacoustic signal is enhanced, which compensates for the loss of sensitivity of the cantilever. A fiber-optic F-P cantilever is utilized to simultaneously measure static pressure and dynamic photoacoustic wave, and a spectral demodulation method based on white light interference is applied to calculate the optical path difference of the F-P interferometer (FPI). The real-time pressure is judged through the linear relationship between the average optical path difference of FPI and the pressure, which gives the proposed fiber-optic photoacoustic sensor the inherent advantages of being uncharged and resistant to electromagnetic interference. The average optical path difference of FPI is positively related to pressure, with a responsivity of 0.6 µm/atm, which is based on changes in the refractive index of gas. In the range of 1-4 atm, the SO2 sensor has a higher detection sensitivity at high-pressure, which benefits from the pressure compensation effect. With the pressure environment of gas insulation equipment at 4 atm as the application background, the SO2 gas is tested. The detection limit is 20 ppb with an averaging time of 400 s.

Rapid Photoacoustic Exhaust Gas Analyzer for Simultaneous Measurement of Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide.

A rapid photoacoustic (PA) exhaust gas analyzer is presented for simultaneous measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). A laser diode (LD) emitting at 450 nm and a light-emitting diode (LED) with a peak wavelength of 275 nm operated simultaneously, producing PA signals of NO2 and SO2, respectively. The LD and LED were modulated at different frequencies of 2568 and 2570 Hz, and their emission light beams were transmitted through two resonant tubes in a differential PA cell (DPAC), respectively. A self-made dual-channel digital lock-in amplifier was used to realize the simultaneous detection of dual-frequency PA signals. Cross interference between the PA signals at the two different frequencies was reduced to 0.02% by using a lock-in amplifier. In order to achieve a rapid dynamic measurement, gas sampling was accelerated by an air pump. The use of mufflers and the differential PA detection technique significantly reduced the gas sampling noise. When the gas flow rate was 1000 sccm, the response time of the PA dual-gas analyzer was 8 and 17 s for NO2 and SO2, respectively. The minimum detection limits of NO2 and SO2 were 1.7 and 26.1 ppb when the averaging time of the system was 10 s, respectively. Due to the wide spectral bandwidth of the LED, NO2 produced an interference to the detection of SO2. The interference was reduced by the precise detection of NO2. Since the radiations of the LD and LED passed through two different PA tubes, the impact of NO2 photochemical dissociation caused by UV LED luminescence on NO2 gas detection was negligible. The sharing of the PA cell, the gas lines, and the signal processing modules significantly reduced the size and cost of the PA dual-gas analyzer.

Dense Multibutterfly Spots-Enhanced Miniaturized Optical Fiber Photoacoustic Gas Sensor.

A miniaturized optical fiber photoacoustic gas sensor enhanced by dense multibutterfly spots is reported for the first time. The principle of space light transmission of neglecting paraxial approximation is theoretically analyzed for designing a dense multibutterfly spots-based miniature multipass cell. In a multipass photoacoustic tube with a diameter of 16 mm, the light beam is reflected about a hundred times. The light spots on the mirror surfaces at both ends of the photoacoustic tube form a dense multibutterfly distribution. The volume of the micro multipass gas chamber is only 5.3 mL. An optical fiber cantilever based on F-P interference is utilized as a photoacoustic pressure detector. Compared with that of the single-pass structure, the gas detection ability of the photoacoustic system with dense multibutterfly spots is improved by about 50 times. The proposed miniaturized sensor realizes a detection limit of 3.4 ppb for C2H2 gas with an averaging time of 100 s. The recognized coefficients of minimum detectable absorption (αmin) and normalized noise equivalent absorption are 1.9 × 10-8 cm-1 and 8.4 × 10-10 W cm-1 Hz-1/2, respectively.

Fiber-Optic Photoacoustic CO Sensor for Gas Insulation Equipment Monitoring Based on Cantilever Differential Lock-In Amplification and Optical Excitation Enhancement.

A fiber-optic photoacoustic CO sensor for gas insulation equipment is proposed, which relies on F-P interferometric cantilever-based differential lock-in amplification and optical multipass excitation enhancement. The sensor has excellent characteristics of high sensitivity, antielectromagnetic interference, fast response, and long-distance detection. The photoacoustic pressure waves in the two resonators of the differential photoacoustic cell (DPAC) are simultaneously detected by two fiber-optic interferometric cantilevers and processed differentially; thereby, the gas flow noise is effectively suppressed. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the superposition of photoacoustic excitation and multipass absorption, the diameter of the resonator is determined to be 6 mm. The optical power emitted by the 1566.6 nm distributed feedback laser is increased to 500 mW by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier. The near-infrared light is reflected 30 times in the multipass cell, which improves the order of magnitude of optical effective excitation. Due to the low sound velocity of SF6 gas, the resonant frequency of the DPAC with a resonator length of 80 mm is 760 Hz. The response time to CO/SF6 gas is 93 s with a flow rate of 500 sccm. The detection limit of the CO sensor is 53 ppb, which realizes the accurate and timely perception of the SF6 decomposition derivative CO and provides technical support for trouble-free operation of gas insulation equipment.

Differential Cantilever Enhanced Fiber-Optic Photoacoustic Sensor for Diffusion Gas Detection.

Aiming at the problem of the fiber-optic photoacoustic (PA) sensor being easily disturbed by external vibration and noise, a differential cantilever enhanced fiber-optic PA sensor is proposed for diffusion gas detection. The sensor comprises two PA tubes with the same structure and a pair of differential interferometric cantilevers. The two PA tubes are symmetrically distributed. The laser is incident on the PA tube as the signal channel to excite the PA pressure wave. Another tube without incident laser is used as the reference channel to suppress external disturbance. The external interference signals and PA signals superimposed with disturbance are detected by the differential cantilevers from the two channels. The signals are simultaneously restored by a single white-light interferometry demodulator, which multiplexed the spectral frequency domain of the superimposed interference spectrum. The experimental results show that the suppression effect of the differential cantilever enhanced PA sensor on ambient noise is improved by 80%, compared to the traditional single-cantilever sensor. The external cofrequency disturbance is suppressed by 20.9 dB. The minimum detection limit to acetylene (C2H2) downs to about 60 ppb with an integration time of 100 s. The sensor has excellent antivibration and electromagnetic interference ability.

High-Precision Multipass Fiber-Optic Photoacoustic Gas Analyzer Based on 2f/1f Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy.

A self-calibration fiber-optic photoacoustic (PA) gas analyzer based on 2f/1f wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) is proposed, which utilizes gas and solid multipass absorption enhancement. The laser light is incident obliquely on the cell wall, and one end of the cell is equipped with a highly reflective mirror. The gas analyzer takes full advantage of the miniature multipass PA cell, which enhances the absorption of gas and solid simultaneously. As a result, the double absorption enhancement of 1f and 2f PA signals are realized. A dual-channel lock-in white-light interferometer based on fiber-optic PA demodulation is designed to simultaneously extract the 1f and 2f PA signals detected by the silicon cantilever. The experimental results of methane gas detection show that the minimum detection limit (MDL) of the PA gas analyzer is 20 ppb when the integration time is 60 s. Moreover, the detection error of gas concentration is within 3% when the laser power is reduced by half. The fiber-optic PA gas analyzer eliminates the influence of changes in the laser power and optical path loss, which can be used for the high-precision detection of trace gases.

Ultrahigh Sensitive Trace Gas Sensing System with Dual Fiber-Optic Cantilever Multiplexing-Based Differential Photoacoustic Detection.

An ultrahigh sensitive trace gas sensing system was presented with dual cantilever-based differential photoacoustic detection. By combining the double enhancement of multipass absorption and optical differential detection, the gas detection sensitivity was significantly improved. The dual-channel synchronous photoacoustic detection was realized by fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interference spectrum multiplexing. The photoacoustic signals detected by two fiber-optic cantilever microphones installed in a differential photoacoustic cell (DPAC) were out of phase, while the detected gas flow noises were in phase. The optical differential detection method achieved both highly sensitive optical interference measurement and differential noise suppression. In the multipass configuration, the interaction path between excitation light and target gas achieved 4.1 m, which improved the photoacoustic signal by an order of magnitude compared with a single reflection. The maximum gas flow allowed by the system based on the DPAC was 250 sccm, which realized the dynamic monitoring of H2S in the SF6 background. The detection limit for H2S in SF6 background was 5.1 ppb, which corresponds to the normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient of 9 × 10-10 cm-1 W Hz-1/2.

Acclimation of intertidal macroalgae Ulva prolifera to UVB radiation: the important role of alternative oxidase.

BACKGROUND: Solar radiation is primarily composed of ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 200 - 400 nm) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400 - 700 nm). Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation accounts for only a small proportion of sunlight, and it is the primary cause of plant photodamage. The use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as refrigerants caused serious ozone depletion in the 1980s, and this had led to an increase in UVB. Although CFC emissions have significantly decreased in recent years, UVB radiation still remains at a high intensity. UVB radiation increase is an important factor that influences plant physiological processes. Ulva prolifera, a type of macroalga found in the intertidal zone, is intermittently exposed to UVB. Alternative oxidase (AOX) plays an important role in plants under stresses. This research examines the changes in AOX activity and the relationships among AOX, photosynthesis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis in U. prolifera under changes in UVB and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). RESULTS: UVB was the main component of solar radiation impacting the typical intertidal green macroalgae U. prolifera. AOX was found to be important during the process of photosynthesis optimization of U. prolifera due to a synergistic effect with non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) under UVB radiation. AOX and glycolate oxidase (GO) worked together to achieve NADPH homeostasis to achieve photosynthesis optimization under changes in PAR + UVB. The synergism of AOX with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) was important during the process of ROS homeostasis under PAR + UVB. CONCLUSIONS: AOX plays an important role in the process of photosynthesis optimization and ROS homeostasis in U. prolifera under UVB radiation. This study provides further insights into the response of intertidal macroalgae to solar light changes.