Functional Characterization of the Soybean Glycine max Actin Depolymerization Factor GmADF13 for Plant Resistance to Drought Stress.

Abiotic stress significantly affects plant growth and has devastating effects on crop production. Drought stress is one of the main abiotic stressors. Actin is a major component of the cytoskeleton, and actin-depolymerizing factors (ADFs) are conserved actin-binding proteins in eukaryotes that play critical roles in plant responses to various stresses. In this study, we found that GmADF13, an ADF gene from the soybean Glycine max, showed drastic upregulation under drought stress. Subcellular localization experiments in tobacco epidermal cells and tobacco protoplasts showed that GmADF13 was localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. We characterized its biological function in transgenic Arabidopsis and hairy root composite soybean plants. Arabidopsis plants transformed with GmADF13 displayed a more robust drought tolerance than wild-type plants, including having a higher seed germination rate, longer roots, and healthy leaves under drought conditions. Similarly, GmADF13-overexpressing (OE) soybean plants generated via the Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of the hairy roots showed an improved drought tolerance. Leaves from OE plants showed higher relative water, chlorophyll, and proline contents, had a higher antioxidant enzyme activity, and had decreased malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide anion levels compared to those of control plants. Furthermore, under drought stress, GmADF13 OE activated the transcription of several drought-stress-related genes, such as GmbZIP1, GmDREB1A, GmDREB2, GmWRKY13, and GmANK114. Thus, GmADF13 is a positive regulator of the drought stress response, and it may play an essential role in plant growth under drought stress conditions. These results provide new insights into the functional elucidation of soybean ADFs. They may be helpful for breeding new soybean cultivars with a strong drought tolerance and further understanding how ADFs help plants adapt to abiotic stress.

Link Prediction in Dynamic Social Networks Combining Entropy, Causality, and a Graph Convolutional Network Model.

Link prediction is recognized as a crucial means to analyze dynamic social networks, revealing the principles of social relationship evolution. However, the complex topology and temporal evolution characteristics of dynamic social networks pose significant research challenges. This study introduces an innovative fusion framework that incorporates entropy, causality, and a GCN model, focusing specifically on link prediction in dynamic social networks. Firstly, the framework preprocesses the raw data, extracting and recording timestamp information between interactions. It then introduces the concept of "Temporal Information Entropy (TIE)", integrating it into the Node2Vec algorithm's random walk to generate initial feature vectors for nodes in the graph. A causality analysis model is subsequently applied for secondary processing of the generated feature vectors. Following this, an equal dataset is constructed by adjusting the ratio of positive and negative samples. Lastly, a dedicated GCN model is used for model training. Through extensive experimentation in multiple real social networks, the framework proposed in this study demonstrated a better performance than other methods in key evaluation indicators such as precision, recall, F1 score, and accuracy. This study provides a fresh perspective for understanding and predicting link dynamics in social networks and has significant practical value.

Excessive STAU1 condensate drives mTOR translation and autophagy dysfunction in neurodegeneration.

The double-stranded RNA-binding protein Staufen1 (STAU1) regulates a variety of physiological and pathological events via mediating RNA metabolism. STAU1 overabundance was observed in tissues from mouse models and fibroblasts from patients with neurodegenerative diseases, accompanied by enhanced mTOR signaling and impaired autophagic flux, while the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we find that endogenous STAU1 forms dynamic cytoplasmic condensate in normal and tumor cell lines, as well as in mouse Huntington's disease knockin striatal cells. STAU1 condensate recruits target mRNA MTOR at its 5'UTR and promotes its translation both in vitro and in vivo, and thus enhanced formation of STAU1 condensate leads to mTOR hyperactivation and autophagy-lysosome dysfunction. Interference of STAU1 condensate normalizes mTOR levels, ameliorates autophagy-lysosome function, and reduces aggregation of pathological proteins in cellular models of neurodegenerative diseases. These findings highlight the importance of balanced phase separation in physiological processes, suggesting that modulating STAU1 condensate may be a strategy to mitigate the progression of neurodegenerative diseases with STAU1 overabundance.

High-stability double perovskite scintillator for flexible X-ray imaging.

Metal halide perovskites, as a new class of attractive and potential scintillators, are highly promising in X-ray imaging. However, their application is limited by the sensitivity to moisture and irradiation. To address this issue, we reported a 2D layered double perovskite material Cs4Cd1-xMnxBi2Cl12 that exhibits high stability both under ambient condition and under X-ray irradiation. Cs4Cd1-xMnxBi2Cl12 demonstrates superior scintillation performance, including excellent X-ray response linearity and a high light yield (∼34,450 photons/MeV). More importantly, the X-ray excited emission intensity maintains 92% and 94% of its original value after stored at ambient condition for over two years and after X-ray irradiation with a total dose of 11.4 Gy, respectively. By mixing with PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane), we have successfully produced a high-quality flexible film that can be bent freely while maintaining its excellent scintillation properties. The scintillating screen exhibits outstanding imaging ability with a spatial resolution of up to 16.7 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm), also, the superiority of this scintillation screen in flexible X-ray imaging is demonstrated. These results indicate the huge potential of this high-stability double perovskite scintillator in X-ray imaging.

Proton Transfer Processes in 2-Butenenitrile Dimer Cation Studied by Mass-Selective Infrared Spectroscopy.

2-Butenenitrile (2-Bu) is a recently discovered crucial interstellar molecule. Herein, an abnormal NH band was observed in the infrared spectrum of the 2-Bu dimer cation, suggestive of a proton transfer reaction within the cluster. Through a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the IR spectrum of (2-Bu)2+, we discovered not only the formation of a new C-N bond through the attachment of one 2-Bu to another but also the occurrence of a proton transfer reaction in the cluster. This proton was identified as originating from the methyl group of the attaching 2-Bu in the cluster based on the analysis of IR spectra of (2-Bu)+ and [2-Bu-acrylonitrile (AN)]+. Furthermore, the detailed reaction process of this ion-molecule reaction is examined with theoretical calculation. This finding contributes significantly to our deeper understanding of ion-molecule reactions in the gas phase and the formation of nitrogen-containing prebiotic molecules in the interstellar medium.

Interleukin-41: a novel serum marker for the diagnosis of alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: For the lack of effective serum markers for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) diagnosis, it is difficult to detect liver cancer and identify its recurrence early. Methods: Databases were used to analyze the genes potentially associated with alpha-fetoprotein(AFP). ELISA assay was used to detect the serum IL-41 in HCC, liver metastases, hepatitis, and healthy people. Immunohistochemical staining was used to analyze the relative quantification of IL-41 in HCC and paracancer tissues. Various survival curves were plotted according to clinical pathological data and helped us draw the ROC curve of IL-41 diagnosis of HCC. Results: The serum expression of IL-41 was highest in AFP negative HCC patients and significantly higher than that in AFP positive HCC and metastatic cancer patients. There was a significant negative correlation between elevated serum IL-41 and AFP(<1500ng/ml). The clinicopathological features suggested that the serum IL-41 level was significantly correlated with capsule invasion, low differentiation and AFP. High serum expression of IL-41 suggests poorer survival and earlier recurrence after resection, and IL-41 upregulated in patients with early recurrence and death. The expression of IL-41 was higher in HCC tissues of patients with multiple tumors or microvascular invasion. The ROC curve showed that serum IL-41 had a sensitivity of 90.17 for HCC and a sensitivity of 96.63 for AFP-negative HCC, while the specificity was higher than 61%. Conclusion: IL-41 in serum and tissue suggests poor prognosis and postoperative recurrence in HCC patients and could be a new serum diagnostic marker for AFP negative patients.

High-Performance NIR-II Fluorescent Type I/II Photosensitizer Enabling Augmented Mild Photothermal Therapy of Tumors by Disrupting Heat Shock Proteins.

NIR-II fluorescent photosensitizers as phototheranostic agents hold considerable promise in the application of mild photothermal therapy (MPTT) for tumors, as the reactive oxygen species generated during photodynamic therapy can effectively disrupt heat shock proteins. Nevertheless, the exclusive utilization of these photosensitizers to significantly augment the MPTT efficacy has rarely been substantiated, primarily due to their insufficient photodynamic performance. Herein, we present the utilization of high-performance NIR-II fluorescent type I/II photosensitizer (AS21:4) as a simple but effective nanoplatform derived from molecule AS2 to enhance the MPTT efficacy of tumors without any additional therapeutic components. By taking advantage of heavy atom effect, AS21:4 as a type I/II photosensitizer demonstrates superior efficacy in producing 1O2 (ΦΔ = 12.4%) and O2 •- among currently available NIR-II fluorescent photosensitizers with absorption exceeding 800 nm. In vitro and in vivo findings demonstrate that the 1O2 and O2 •- generated from AS21:4 induce a substantial reduction in the expression of HSP90, thereby improving the MPTT efficacy. The remarkable phototheranostic performance, substantial tumor accumulation, and prolonged tumor retention of AS21:4, establish it as a simple but superior phototheranostic agent for NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided MPTT of tumors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Formation and retention of aroma compounds in pigeons roasted by circulating non-fried roast technique by means of UHPLC-HRMS and GC-O-MS.

Lipids are key aroma contributors in meat products. However, the role of different lipids in the presence of aroma compounds in roasted pigeons has not been studied. The formation of aroma compounds and lipids during the circulating non-fried roasting of pigeons was investigated. The results presented that 18 aroma compounds, including 5-methy-2,3-diethylpyrazine, were identified as key aroma compounds. A total of 6324 lipids were classed into 47 categories, such as phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and triglyceride (TG). Nine lipids, containing PA(P-20:0/22:4(7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z)) and LPC 16:0-SN1, showed promise as potential biomarkers for discriminating differential pigeons using OPLS-DA. PC (13.76%), TG (13.58%), and their products were major lipids, among which TG 16:0 16:0 18:2, LPC 18:2-SN1, and PC 18:1_18:1 played a crucial role in the presence of aroma compounds. Interestingly, the linoleic acid, an important aroma contributor, was predominantly bonded to the sn-2 position of phospholipid and sn-3 position of neutral lipids.

Genipin crosslinked quaternary ammonium chitosan hydrogels for wound dressings.

Bacterial infection can lead to various complications, such as inflammations on surrounding tissues, which can prolong wound healing and thus represent a significant clinical and public healthcare problem. Herein, a report on the fabrication of a novel genipin/quaternized chitosan (CS) hydrogel for wound dressing is presented. The hydrogel was prepared by mixing quaternized CS and genipin under 35 °C bath. The hydrogels showed porous structure (250-500 µm) and mechanical properties (3000-6000 Pa). In addition, the hydrogels displayed self-healing ability and adhesion performance on different substrates. Genipin crosslinked quaternized CS hydrogels showed antibacterial activities againstE. coliandS. aureus. The CCK-8 and fluorescent images confirmed the cytocompatibility of hydrogels by seeding with NIH-3T3 cells. The present study showed that the prepared hydrogel has the potential to be used as wound dressing.

Distribution of mitochondrial MT-RNR1, MT-TL1, MT-TS1, MT-TK and MT-TE genes variants associated with hearing loss in Southwestern China.

BACKGROUND: Maternally inherited hearing loss has been associated with mitochondrial genes, including MT-RNR1, MT-TL1, MT-TS1, MT-TK and MT-TE. Among these genes, MT-RNR1 is known to be a hotspot for pathogenic variants related to aminoglycoside ototoxicity and nonsyndromic hearing loss. However, the frequency and spectrum of variants in these genes, particularly in multi-ethnic hearing loss patients from Southwestern China, are still not fully understood. METHODS: In this study, we enrolled 460 hearing loss patients from various ethnic backgrounds (Han, Yi, Dai, Hani, etc.) in Southwestern China. Next-generation sequencing was used to analyze the mitochondrial MT-RNR1, MT-TL1, MT-TS1, MT-TK and MT-TE genes. Subsequently, bioinformatical methods were employed to evaluate the identified variants. RESULTS: Among the patients with hearing loss, we identified 70 variants in MT-RNR1 (78.6 %, 55/70), MT-TL1 (4.3 %, 3/70), MT-TS1 (4.3 %, 3/70), MT-TK (7.1 %, 5/70) and MT-TE (5.7 %, 4/70) genes. We found that 15 variants were associated with hearing loss, including m.1555 A > G and m.1095 T > C. Additionally, we discovered three reported mitochondrial variants (m.676 G > A, m.7465 insC, and m.7474 A > G) newly correlated with hearing loss. Notably, certain pathogenic variants, such as m.1555 A > G, displayed non-consistent distributions among the multi-ethnic patients with hearing loss. Furthermore, the number of variants associated with hearing loss was higher in the Sinitic group (n = 181) and Tibeto-Burman group (n = 215) compared to the Kra-Dai group (n = 38) and Hmong-Mien group (n = 26). CONCLUSIONS: This present study revealed the distribution of mitochondrial variants linked to hearing loss across various ethnic groups in Southwestern China. These data suggest a potential correlation between the distribution of mitochondrial variants associated with hearing loss and ethnic genetic backgrounds.

Polyphenolic Nanoparticle-Modified Probiotics for Microenvironment Remodeling and Targeted Therapy of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) refer to multifaceted disorders in the intestinal microenvironment and microbiota homeostasis. In view of the broad bioactivity and high compatibility of polyphenols, there is considerable interest in developing a polyphenol-based collaborative platform to remodel the IBD microenvironment and regulate microbiota. Here, we demonstrated the coordination assembly of nanostructured polyphenols to modify probiotics and simultaneously deliver drugs for IBD treatment. Inspired by the distinctive structure of tannic acid (TA), we fabricated nanostructured pBDT-TA by using a self-polymerizable aromatic dithiol (BDT) and TA, which exhibited excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capability in vitro. We thus coated pBDT-TA and sodium alginate (SA) to the surface of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 layer by layer to construct the collaborative platform EcN@SA-pBDT-TA. The modified probiotics showed improved resistance to oxidative and inflammatory stress, which resulted in superior colon accumulation and retention in IBD model mice. Further, EcN@SA-pBDT-TA could alleviate dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis by controlling the inflammatory response, repairing intestinal barriers, and modulating gut microbiota. Importantly, EcN@SA-pBDT-TA-mediated IBD drug delivery could achieve an improved therapeutic effect in DSS model mice. Given the availability and functionality of polyphenol and prebiotics, we expected that nanostructured polyphenol-modified probiotics provided a solution to develop a collaborative platform for IBD treatment.

Repair of schneiderian membrane perforation through membrane fixation with simultaneous implant placement: a case report.

Perforation of the maxillary sinus membrane is a common complication during maxillary sinus elevation. Intraoperative perforation of the maxillary sinus membrane may complicate the procedure and indirectly lead to implant failure. Timely repair of the perforated maxillary sinus membrane can effectively improve the implant survival rate. This case describes a method of repairing a maxillary sinus membrane perforation with a suture-attached collagen membrane and shows stable repair results at a 31-month follow-up.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the Bichetii grass Chlorophytum laxum (Asparagaceae).

Chlorophytum laxum of Asparagaceae is a valuable ornamental plant native to the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia. The plant also has medicinal properties and is used as source for folk medicine. Despite being commercially important, genetic studies of C. laxum are still limited. To expand the genomic information of this plant species, we sequenced, assembled, and characterized its complete chloroplast genome. The chloroplast genome was 153,678 bp in length, with a large single-copy region (83,225 bp) and a small single-copy region (18,031 bp) separated by a pair of inverted repeat regions (26,211 bp each). A total of 127 genes were predicted, including 81 protein-coding, 38 tRNA, and eight rRNA genes. The overall GC content was 37.3%. Based on current sampling size, phylogenetic analysis using the maximum likelihood based on the complete chloroplast genome sequence revealed that the relationship in Chlorophytum is well resolved; C. laxum was closely related to C. rhizopendulum.

Structural and functional brain alterations in subthreshold depression: A multimodal coordinate-based meta-analysis.

Imaging studies of subthreshold depression (StD) have reported structural and functional abnormalities in a variety of spatially diverse brain regions. However, there is no consensus among different studies. In the present study, we applied a multimodal meta-analytic approach, the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE), to test the hypothesis that StD exhibits spatially convergent structural and functional brain abnormalities compared to healthy controls. A total of 31 articles with 25 experiments were included, collectively representing 1001 subjects with StD. We found consistent differences between StD and healthy controls mainly in the left insula across studies with various neuroimaging methods. Further exploratory analyses found structural atrophy and decreased functional activities in the right pallidum and thalamus in StD, and abnormal spontaneous activity converged to the middle frontal gyrus. Coordinate-based meta-analysis found spatially convergent structural and functional impairments in StD. These findings provide novel insights for understanding the neural underpinnings of subthreshold depression and enlighten the potential targets for its early screening and therapeutic interventions in the future.

First Report of Anthracnose on Wurfbainia villosa var. villosa Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in China.

Wurfbainia villosa var. villosa is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine under the family Zingiberaceae, and its ripe fruits (called Fructus Amomi) are widely used clinically for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders (Yang et al. 2023; Chen et al. 2023). In September 2023, plants of W. villosa var. villosa exhibited anthracnose-like symptoms on leaf with a disease incidence of 35% (n = 100 investigated plants) in an approximately 90 m2 field in Guangning, China (N23°42'51.70″, E112°26'35.75″). Light yellowish-green spots (~2 mm diameter) initially appeared on the infected leaves, gradually formed sub-circular or irregular spots, then fused and expanded, resulting in wilting of the leaves. To identify the causal agent, 10 symptomatic leaves were collected and transferred to the laboratory. The symptomatic leaf samples were surface sterilized in 0.5% NaClO for 2 min, and in 70% ethanol for 30 s, then washed three times with sterile water and air-dried on sterile filter paper. The leaf tissues were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium containing 100 µg mL-1 of ampicillin (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) and incubated for 7 days at 28°C in darkness. Nine isolates with similar colony morphology were isolated from the 10 plated leaves. Three representative isolates (GNAF03, GNAF06, GNAF09 with approximately 3.5 cm in diameter after 3 days of incubation) appeared gray to dark brown with dense aerial hyphae at the front and gray to black colonies on the reverse of the plates. Conidia were cylindrical and measured 21.2 to 29.3 µm long × 7.1 to 9.6 µm wide (n = 50). Appressoria were formed by the tips of germ tubes or hyphae and were brown, ellipsoid, thick-walled, and smooth-margined, measuring 10.2 to 12.3 µm long × 6.4 to 8.2 µm wide (n = 50). Morphologically, the fungal isolates resembled Colletotrichum sp. (Weir et al. 2012). For molecular analysis, genomic DNA was extracted from fresh mycelia of the three isolates, and the primers ACT-512F/ACT-783R, CL1/CL2A, GDF/GDR, and ITS1/ITS4 were used to amplify partial regions of rDNA-ITS, actin (ACT), calmodulin (CAL), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) regions, respectively (Weir et al. 2012). The resulting sequences with more than 99% nucleotide identity to C. gloeosporioides were submitted to GenBank (accession numbers PP552725, PP552726, and OR827444 for ACT; PP552727, PP552728, and OR827443 for CAL; PP552729, PP552730, and OR827445 for GAPDH; PP549996, PP549999, and OR841394 for ITS). A phylogenetic tree was generated by the maximum likelihood method using the concatenated sequences of ACT, CAL, GADPH, and ITS by Polysuite software (Damm et al. 2020). Based on morphological and molecular analysis, the three isolates were characterized as C. gloeosporioides. The pathogenicity of the GNAF09 isolate was assessed on W. villosa var. villosa seedling leaves inoculated by spraying with 40 µL of conidial suspension at 106 conidia mL-1 or wounded with a sterile toothpick then inoculated with mycelial agar plugs (5 mm diameter). Control leaves were inoculated with 40 µL of sterile distilled water or agar plugs without mycelia. The inoculated plants were placed in a humid chamber at 28°C with 80% humidity and a 12 h light-dark photoperiod. Symptoms similar to those seen on naturally infected leaves were observed on all inoculated leaves after 7 days inoculation. Re-isolation was performed from 80% of the inoculated leaves and isolates were confirmed as C. gloeosporioides morphologically, confirming Koch's postulates, and by sequencing the ACT, CAL, GADPH, and ITS regions. The control groups remained asymptomatic. In previous studies, C. gloeosporioides has also caused anthracnose on Chinese medicinal plants, including Baishao (Radix paeoniae alba) (Zhang et al. 2017) and Rubia cordifolia L. (Tang et al. 2020). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. gloeosporioides causing anthracnose on W. villosa var. villosa in China. The results of our report serve as valuable references for further research on this disease.

Genome-wide evolutionary analysis of TKL_CTR1-DRK-2 gene family and functional characterization reveals that TaCTR1 positively regulates flowering time in wheat.

BACKGROUND: Flowering time has an important effect on regional adaptation and yields for crops. The tyrosine kinase-like (TKL) gene family is widely existed and participates in many biological processes in plants. Furthermore, only few TKLs have been characterized functions in controlling flowering time in wheat. RESULTS: Here, we report that TaCTR1, a tyrosine kinase-like (TKL) gene, regulates flowering time in wheat. Based on identification and evolutionary analysis of TKL_CTR1-DRK-2 subfamily in 15 plants, we proposed an evolutionary model for TaCTR1, suggesting that occurrence of some exon fusion events during evolution. The overexpression of TaCTR1 caused early flowering time in transgenic lines. Transcriptomics analysis enabled identification of mass differential expression genes including plant hormone (ET, ABA, IAA, BR) signaling, flavonoid biosynthesis, phenolamides and antioxidant, and flowering-related genes in TaCTR1 overexpression transgenic lines compared with WT plants. qRT-PCR results showed that the expression levels of ethylene (ET) signal-related genes (ETR, EIN, ERF) and flowering-related genes (FT, PPD1, CO, PRR, PHY) were altered in TaCTR1-overexpressing wheat compared with WT plants. Metabonomics analysis showed that flavonoid contents were altered. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the results show that TaCTR1 plays a positive role in controlling flowering time by activating various signaling pathways and regulating flowering-related genes, and will provide new insights on the mechanisms of wheat flowering regulation.

Improvement in the Sustained-Release Performance of Electrospun Zein Nanofibers via Crosslinking Using Glutaraldehyde Vapors.

Volatile active ingredients in biopolymer nanofibers are prone to burst and uncontrolled release. In this study, we used electrospinning and crosslinking to design a new sustained-release active packaging containing zein and eugenol (EU). Vapor-phase glutaraldehyde (GTA) was used as the crosslinker. Characterization of the crosslinked zein nanofibers was conducted via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical properties, water resistance, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. It was observed that crosslinked zein nanofibers did not lose their fiber shape, but the diameter of the fibers increased. By increasing the crosslink time, the mechanical properties and water resistance of the crosslinked zein nanofibers were greatly improved. The FT-IR results demonstrated the formation of chemical bonds between free amino groups in zein molecules and aldehyde groups in GTA molecules. EU was added to the zein nanofibers, and the corresponding release behavior in PBS was investigated using the dialysis membrane method. With an increase in crosslink time, the release rate of EU from crosslinked zein nanofibers decreased. This study demonstrates the potential of crosslinking by GTA vapors on the controlled release of the zein encapsulation structure containing EU. Such sustainable-release nanofibers have promising potential for the design of fortified foods or as active and smart food packaging.

Alcohol-Processable All-Polymer n-Type Thermoelectrics.

The general strategy for n-type organic thermoelectric is to blend n-type conjugated polymer hosts with small molecule dopants. In this work, all-polymer n-type thermoelectric is reported by dissolving a novel n-type conjugated polymer and a polymer dopant, poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI), in alcohol solution, followed by spin-coating to give polymer host/polymer dopant blend film. To this end, an alcohol-soluble n-type conjugated polymer is developed by attaching polar and branched oligo (ethylene glycol) (OEG) side chains to a cyano-substituted poly(thiophene-alt-co-thiazole) main chain. The main chain results in the n-type property and the OEG side chain leads to the solubility in hexafluorineisopropanol (HFIP). In the polymer host/polymer dopant blend film, the Coulombic interaction between the dopant counterions and the negatively charged polymer chains is reduced and the ordered stacking of the polymer host is preserved. As a result, the polymer host/polymer dopant blend exhibits the power factor of 36.9 µW m-1 K-1, which is one time higher than that of the control polymer host/small molecule dopant blend. Moreover, the polymer host/polymer dopant blend shows much better thermal stability than the control polymer host/small molecule dopant blend. This research demonstrates the high performance and excellent stability of all-polymer n-type thermoelectric.

Zinc finger protein 36 like 2-histone deacetylase 1 axis is involved in the bone responses to mechanical stress.

The molecular mechanism underlying the promotion of fracture healing by mechanical stimuli remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the role of zinc finger protein 36 like 2 (ZFP36L2)-histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) axis on the osteogenic responses to moderate mechanical stimulation. Appropriate stimulation of fluid shear stress (FSS) was performed on MC3T3-E1 cells transduced with ZFP36L2 and HDAC1 recombinant adenoviruses, aiming to validate the influence of mechanical stress on the expression of ZFP36L2-HDAC1 and the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization. The results showed that moderate FSS stimulation significantly upregulated the expression of ZFP36L2 in MC3T3-E1 cells (p < 0.01). The overexpression of ZFP36L1 markedly enhanced the levels of osteogenic differentiation markers, including bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Osterix, and collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1) (p < 0.01). ZFP36L2 accelerated the degradation of HDAC1 by specifically binding to its 3' UTR region, thereby fulfilling its function at the post-transcriptional regulatory gene level and promoting the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization fate of cells. Mechanical unloading notably diminished/elevated the expression of ZFP36L2/HDAC1, decreased bone mineral density and bone volume fraction, hindered the release of osteogenic-related factors and vascular endothelial growth factor in callus tissue (p < 0.01), and was detrimental to fracture healing. Collectively, proper stress stimulation plays a crucial role in facilitating osteogenesis through the promotion of ZFP36L2 and subsequent degradation of HDAC1. Targeting ZFP36L2-HDAC1 axis may provide promising insights to enhance bone defect healing.

First report of Neocosmospora pisi causing blight on Ammopiptanthus mongolicus in China.

Ammopiptanthus mongolicus is the only evergreen broad-leaved shrub in the desert region of Northwest China, which is one of the dominant species in the desert vegetation of the region, playing an important role in maintaining the stability of the local desert ecosystem. A. mongolicus is also very hardy and drought resistant and can survive extreme temperatures (Liu et al. 2013; Yang et al. 2022). The large-scale death of A. mongolicus could cause desertification in the region. Two months after the discovery of Fusarium verticillioides causing blight on A. mongolicus in Etuoke county, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in September 2023 (Yang et al. 2024), a large number of A. mongolicus plants with symptoms of blights were found in Lingwu city, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China (106.442368°E, 37.734026°N) in November 2023. The incidence of diseased plants in this field was about 30%. The field symptoms in Lingwu city were similar to those observed in Etuoke county. The diseased leaves initially turned yellow, then wilted and dehisced, eventually resulting in plant death (Figure 1). The roots of the diseased plants were cut diagonally and the central cylinder showed a brown color (Figure 2). In order to investigate whether the death of A. mongolicus was caused by the same pathogen as those identified previously, 30 roots were collected from 10 diseased plants. After rinsing and surface sterilization (70% ethanol for 3 min and 2.5% NaClO for 5 min, rinsed 3 times with sterile distilled water), diseased tissues (10×10 mm) were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) (3 pieces per plate) and incubated from 3 to 5 days at 25°C. The strain AmP5 was isolated and used for further study. After 3 days on PDA medium, fungal colonies were white to milky, the undersides of the cultures were yellowish to orange-brown (Figure 3). After 7 days on synthetic nutrient-poor agar (SNA), microconidia were ovoidal or with a rounded apex and truncate base, 10.5 ± 1.5 µm × 1.6 ± 0.2 µm (×400). The macroconidia were slightly curved or arcuate, 40.5 ± 3.5 µm × 5 ± 0.5 µm (×400) (Figure 4) (Sisic et al. 2018). The pathogen was confirmed to be Neocosmospora pisi by multigene phylogenetic analysis of TEF, RPB1 and RPB2 genes using primers EF1/EF2, F5/G2R and 5F2/11AR, respectively (O'Donnell et al. 2022). The sequences of PCR products were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers OR944631 (RPB1), OR988086 (TEF) and OR988087 (RPB2), respectively. The results of pairwise alignment in Fusarioid-ID database (Crous et al. 2021) showed 99.84% similarity and 83.96% overlap of the EF1-α sequence to the corresponding sequence LR583636 of ex-epitype CBS 123669 of Neocosmospora pisi (syn. Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi), 99.72% similarity and 85.66% overlap of the RPB1 sequence to the corresponding sequence MW834242 of ex-epitype CBS 123669 of N. pisi, and 99.47% similarity and 78.26% overlap of RPB2 sequence to the corresponding sequence LR583862 of ex-epitype CBS 123669 of N. pisi. Moreover, the result of polyphasic identification in the Fusarioid-ID database also showed EF1-a, RPB1, and RPB2 sequences had 99.15% similarity to the corresponding sequences of CBS 1233669. The pathogenicity of AmP5 was tested on potted 64 days old seedlings A. mongolicus plants. The roots of 3 seedlings were inoculated with conidial suspension (1×106 /ml), and another 3 used as controls were inoculated with sterile water, by gently peeling off the soil around the roots during inoculation, and pouring the conidial suspension around the roots (10 ml/seedling). All plants were placed in a growth chamber at 18-25℃ (10 h light; 14 h dark). After incubation for 3-5 days, the symptoms similar to those observed in the field (Figure 5), including brown rot of steles (Figure 6), developed on plants inoculated with conidial suspension, whereas no symptoms were observed on the control plants. The same pathogen was reisolated from inoculated roots and confirmed as N. pisi based on morphological and molecular analyses (TEF, RPB1 and RPB2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of blight on A. mongolicus caused by N. pisi in China. This study also indicates that blight on A. mongolicus can be caused by different fungal pathogens. Blight caused by different pathogens may have different in terms of control measures and pathogenic mechanisms, so the study of blight caused by different pathogens is of profound value.