Gate-Tunable Antiferromagnetic Chern Insulator in Twisted Bilayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.

A series of recent experimental works on twisted MoTe_{2} homobilayers have unveiled an abundance of exotic states in this system. Valley-polarized quantum anomalous Hall states have been identified at hole doping of ν=-1, and the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect is observed at ν=-2/3 and ν=-3/5. In this Letter, we investigate the electronic properties of AA-stacked twisted bilayer MoTe_{2} at ν=-2 by k-space Hartree-Fock calculations. We identify a series of phases, among which a noteworthy phase is the antiferromagnetic Chern insulator, stabilized by an external electric field. We attribute the existence of this Chern insulator to an antiferromagnetic instability at a topological phase transition between the quantum spin hall phase and a band insulator phase. Our research proposes the potential of realizing a Chern insulator beyond ν=-1, and contributes fresh perspectives on the interplay between band topology and electron-electron correlations in moiré superlattices.

[Evaluation of chemical constituents of Draconis Sanguis and its protective effect on renal tubular injury in diabetic kidney disease].

The chemical constituents of Draconis Sanguis were preliminarily studied by macroporous resin, silica gel, dextran gel, and high-performance liquid chromatography. One retro-dihydrochalcone, four flavonoids, and one stilbene were isolated. Their chemical structures were identified as 4-hydroxy-2,6-dimethoxy-3-methyldihydrochalcone(1), 4'-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-8-methylflavan(2), 7-hydroxy-4',5-dimethoxyflavan(3),(2S)-7-hydroxy-5-methoxy-6-methylflavan(4),(2S)-7-hydroxy-5-methoxyflavan(5), and pterostilbene(6) by modern spectroscopy, physicochemical properties, and literature comparison. Compound 1 was a new compound. Compounds 2 and 6 were first found in the Arecaceae family. Compound 5 had the potential to prevent and treat diabetic kidney disease.

Supramolecular Chemotherapy: Complexation by Carboxylated Pillar[6]arene for Decreasing Cytotoxicity of Nitrogen Mustard to Normal Cells and Enhancing Its Antitumor Efficiency against Breast Cancer.

Advances in chemotherapeutic strategies are urgently required to improve antitumor efficiency. Herein, a carboxylated pillar[6]arene (CP6A) was employed to load chemotherapy medication, nitrogen mustard (NM), via forming a direct host-guest complex, as this helps to decrease the cytotoxicity of NM on normal mammary epithelial cells. Attributed to the stronger complexation ability of CP6A for endogenous spermine (SPM) than for NM, the complexed NM could be competitively released from the CP6A cavity via replacement with SPM. This chemotherapy strategy performed well in vitro and in vivo for SPM-overexpressed cancers. In comparison with free NM, antitumor efficiency of NM/CP6A was significantly enhanced, which originated from the synergistic effect of competitive release of NM and simultaneous trapping of SPM. This strategy might guide expansion to other first-line antitumor agents to improve therapeutic efficacy and decrease side effects, thereby replenishing the possibilities of supramolecular chemotherapy.

Relationship between educational level and survival of patients with cancer: A multicentre cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although socioeconomic factors are important determinants of population mortality, the effect of educational level on the survival of patients with cancer in China is unclear. This study aimed to assess whether educational level is associated with the prognosis of patients with cancer and to explore the mediators of this association. METHODS: This multicentre cohort study included 18,251 patients diagnosed with cancer between May 2013 and December 2018. The main parameters measured were overall survival (OS) and all-cause mortality. The relationship between educational level and all-cause mortality was assessed using multifactor-corrected Cox survival analysis. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between educational level and patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA). RESULTS: The mean age of the 18,251 participants (men, 9939 [54.4%]) was 57.37 ± 11.66 years. Multifactorial survival analysis showed that patients survived longer with increasing education (university and above vs. elementary school and below; p = p = <0.001, HR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.77-0.92), and the differences were statistically significant in different subgroups. The potential impact factors included sex, age, TNM stage, and PG-SGA score. Logistic regression showed a significant negative association between educational level and the modifiable factor PG-SGA (secondary vs. primary and below; p = 0.004, HR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.83-0.97; university and above vs. primary and below; p < 0.001, HR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.71-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Educational level was a significant prognostic factor for patients with cancer, independent of other known prognostic factors. This association was further improved by modifying the nutritional status.

Fractional Chern Insulator in Twisted Bilayer MoTe_{2}.

A recent experiment has reported the first observation of a zero-field fractional Chern insulator (FCI) phase in twisted bilayer MoTe_{2} moiré superlattices [J. Cai et al., Signatures of fractional quantum anomalous Hall states in twisted MoTe_{2}, Nature (London) 622, 63 (2023).NATUAS0028-083610.1038/s41586-023-06289-w]. The experimental observation is at an unexpected large twist angle 3.7° and calls for a better understanding of the FCI in real materials. In this Letter, we perform large-scale density functional theory calculation for the twisted bilayer MoTe_{2} and find that lattice reconstruction is crucial for the appearance of an isolated flat Chern band. The existence of the FCI state at ν=-2/3 is confirmed by exact diagonalization. We establish phase diagrams with respect to the twist angle and electron interaction, which reveal an optimal twist angle of 3.5° for the observation of FCI. We further demonstrate that an external electric field can destroy the FCI state by changing band geometry and show evidence of the ν=-3/5 FCI state in this system. Our research highlights the importance of accurate single-particle band structure in the quest for strong correlated electronic states and provides insights into engineering fractional Chern insulator in moiré superlattices.

MdbHLH162 connects the gibberellin and jasmonic acid signals to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple.

Anthocyanins are secondary metabolites induced by environmental stimuli and developmental signals. The positive regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis have been reported, whereas the anthocyanin repressors have been neglected. Although the signal transduction pathways of gibberellin (GA) and jasmonic acid (JA) and their regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis have been investigated, the cross-talk between GA and JA and the antagonistic mechanism of regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis remain to be investigated. In this study, we identified the anthocyanin repressor MdbHLH162 in apple and revealed its molecular mechanism of regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis by integrating the GA and JA signals. MdbHLH162 exerted passive repression by interacting with MdbHLH3 and MdbHLH33, which are two recognized positive regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis. MdbHLH162 negatively regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis by disrupting the formation of the anthocyanin-activated MdMYB1-MdbHLH3/33 complexes and weakening transcriptional activation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic genes MdDFR and MdUF3GT by MdbHLH3 and MdbHLH33. The GA repressor MdRGL2a antagonized MdbHLH162-mediated inhibition of anthocyanins by sequestering MdbHLH162 from the MdbHLH162-MdbHLH3/33 complex. The JA repressors MdJAZ1 and MdJAZ2 interfered with the antagonistic regulation of MdbHLH162 by MdRGL2a by titrating the formation of the MdRGL2a-MdbHLH162 complex. Our findings reveal that MdbHLH162 integrates the GA and JA signals to negatively regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis. This study provides new information for discovering more anthocyanin biosynthesis repressors and explores the cross-talk between hormone signals.

Systemic inflammation and insulin resistance-related indicator predicts poor outcome in patients with cancer cachexia.

BACKGROUND: The C-reactive protein (CRP)-triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index (CTI), which is a measure representing the level of inflammation and insulin resistance (IR), is related to poor cancer prognosis; however, the CTI has not been validated in patients with cancer cachexia. Thus, this study aimed to explore the potential clinical value of the CTI in patients with cancer cachexia. METHODS: In this study, our prospective multicenter cohort included 1411 patients with cancer cachexia (mean age 59.45 ± 11.38, 63.3% male), which was a combined analysis of multiple cancer types. We randomly selected 30% of the patients for the internal test cohort (mean age 58.90 ± 11.22% 61.4% male). Additionally, we included 307 patients with cancer cachexia in the external validation cohort (mean age 61.16 ± 11, 58.5% male). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration curves were performed to investigate the prognostic value of CTI. The prognostic value of the CTI was also investigated performing univariate and multivariate survival analyses. RESULTS: The survival curve indicated that the CTI showed a significant prognostic value in the total, internal, and external validation cohorts. Prognostic ROC curves and calibration curves revealed that the CTI showed good consistency in predicting the survival of patients with cancer cachexia. Multivariate survival analysis showed that an elevated CTI increased the risk of death by 22% (total cohort, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-1.33), 34% (internal test cohort, 95%CI = 1.11-1.62), and 35% (external validation cohort, 95%CI = 1.14-1.59) for each increase in the standard deviation of CTI. High CTI reliably predicted shorter survival (total cohort, hazard ratio [HR] = 1.45, 95%CI = 1.22-1.71; internal test cohort, HR = 1.62, 95%CI = 1.12-2.36; external validation cohort, HR = 1.61, 95%CI = 1.15-2.26). High CTI significantly predicted shorter survival in different tumor subgroups, such as esophageal [HR = 2.11, 95%CI = 1.05-4.21] and colorectal cancer [HR = 2.29, 95%CI = 1.42-3.71]. The mediating effects analysis found that the mediating proportions of PGSGA, ECOG PS, and EORTC QLQ-C30 on the direct effects of CTI were 21.72%, 19.63%, and 11.61%, respectively We found that there was a significant positive correlation between the CTI and 90-day [HR = 2.48, 95%CI = 1.52-4.14] and 180-day mortality [HR = 1.77,95%CI = 1.24-2.55] in patients with cancer cachexia. CONCLUSION: The CTI can predict the short- and long-term survival of patients with cancer cachexia and provide a useful prognostic tool for clinical practice.

Fourteen new 2-benzylbenzofuran glycosides with cardioprotective activity from Heterosmilax yunnanensis.

Fourteen new 2-benzylbenzofuran O-glycosides (1-13, 15) and one new key precursor, diarylacetone (14) were isolated from the roots of Heterosmilax yunnanensis Gagnep, which all have characteristic 2,3,4-O-trisubstituted benzyl. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, UV and IR. The isolated compounds were assessed for their cardioprotective activities and compounds 1, 3 and 6 could significantly improve cardiomyocytes viability. Moreover, the mechanistic study revealed that these three compounds could significantly decrease intracellular ROS levels and maintain mitochondrial homeostasis upon hypoxia inducement. Consequently, 1, 3 and 6 might serve as potential lead compounds to prevent myocardial ischemia.

Engineering Magnetic Phases of Layered Antiferromagnets by Interfacial Charge Transfer.

Van der Waals heterostructures composed of distinct layered materials can display behaviors entirely different from those of each individual layer due to interfacial coupling. Here we investigate the manipulation of magnetic phases in two-dimensional magnets through interfacial charge transfer in heterostructures of magnetic and nonmagnetic layers. This is demonstrated by first-principles calculations, which unveil a transition toward the ferromagnetic phase by stacking antiferromagnetic bilayer CrSBr on graphene. Using an effective model consisting of two electronically coupled single layers, we show that the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic magnetic phase transition occurs due to interfacial charge transfer, which enhances ferromagnetism. We further reveal that the magnetic phase transition can also be induced by electron and hole carriers and demonstrate that the phase transition is a spin-canting process. This allows for precise gate-control of noncollinear magnetism on demand. Our work predicts interfacial charge transfer as a potent mechanism to tune magnetic phases in van der Waals heterostructures and creates opportunities for spintronic applications.

ID1 expressing macrophages support cancer cell stemness and limit CD8+ T cell infiltration in colorectal cancer.

Elimination of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and reinvigoration of antitumor immunity remain unmet challenges for cancer therapy. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) constitute the prominant population of immune cells in tumor tissues, contributing to the formation of CSC niches and a suppressive immune microenvironment. Here, we report that high expression of inhibitor of differentiation 1 (ID1) in TAMs correlates with poor outcome in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). ID1 expressing macrophages maintain cancer stemness and impede CD8+ T cell infiltration. Mechanistically, ID1 interacts with STAT1 to induce its cytoplasmic distribution and inhibits STAT1-mediated SerpinB2 and CCL4 transcription, two secretory factors responsible for cancer stemness inhibition and CD8+ T cell recruitment. Reducing ID1 expression ameliorates CRC progression and enhances tumor sensitivity to immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Collectively, our study highlights the pivotal role of ID1 in controlling the protumor phenotype of TAMs and paves the way for therapeutic targeting of ID1 in CRC.

Association between insulin resistance related indicators with the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been linked to metabolism alteration. Because insulin resistance (IR) is the basic mechanism of metabolism alteration, IR related indicators are considered to be associated with prognostic of CRC. In this study, we compared the prognostic values of common IR related indicators for CRC and selected the best one. Moreover, we explored the association between that indicator and CRC prognosis and possible interactive covariates. METHODS: Medical records of patients with CRC (n = 1765) were retrieved from the Investigation on Nutrition Status and Clinical Outcome of Common Cancers (INSCOC) study. We compared the prognostic values of IR related indicators and select the best one using concordance index (C-index) and area under curve (AUC). Using Cox proportional hazard regression models, we evaluated the association between that indicator and CRC prognosis. Interaction tests were performed to evaluate possible interactions among covariates and the IR related indicator. RESULTS: Results of C-index and AUC indicated that the ratio of low-density lipoprotein-to-high-density lipoprotein (LHR) showed the highest ability to predict the prognosis of patients with CRC. LHR independently predicted CRC prognosis [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-1.22; P = 0.001]. The interactions between LHR, and age (<65 vs. ≥65; P for interaction = 0.001) or neutrocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (<3 vs. ≥3; P for interaction = 0.055) were also observed. CONCLUSION: LHR was found to be the best IR related indicators to predict prognosis of CRC, and it was negatively correlated with the prognosis of patients with CRC. NLR and aging might interact with LHR.

Prognostic value of systemic inflammation and for patients with colorectal cancer cachexia.

BACKGROUND: The development and progression of cancer cachexia are connected to systemic inflammation and physical performance. However, few relevant studies have reported the survival outcomes prediction of systemic inflammation and physical performance in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) cachexia. This study investigated the prognostic prediction value of systemic inflammation and performance status in patients with CRC cachexia. METHODS: This multicentre cohort study prospectively collected 905 patients with CRC (58.3% males, 59.3 ± 11.5 years old). Cancer cachexia was diagnosed according to the 2011 Fearon Cachexia Diagnostic Consensus. The prognostic value of systematic inflammatory indicators was determined using the area under the curve, concordance index, and multivariate survival analysis. Performance status was evaluated with Eastern Coopertive Oncology Group performance score (ECOG-PS). Survival data were analysed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: The area under the curve, concordance index and survival analysis showed that C-reactive protein (CRP), lymphocyte to CRP ratio (LCR) and CRP to albumin ratio (CAR) were more stable and consistent with the survival of patients with CRC, both in non-cachexia and cachexia populations. Among patients with CRC cachexia, high inflammation [low LCR, hazard ratio (HR) 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 3.33 (2.08-5.32); high CAR, HR (95% CI) = 2.92 (1.88-4.55); high CRP, HR (95% CI) = 3.12 (2.08-4.67)] indicated a worse prognosis, compared with non-cachexia patients [low LCR, HR (95% CI) = 2.28 (1.65-3.16); high CAR, HR (95% CI) = 2.36 (1.71-3.25); high CRP, HR (95% CI) = 2.58 (1.85-3.60)]. Similarly, among patients with CRC cachexia, high PS [ECOG-PS 2, HR (95% CI) = 1.61 (1.04-2.50); ECOG-PS 3/4, HR (95% CI) = 2.91 (1.69-5.00]) indicated a worse prognosis, compared with patients with CRC without cachexia [ECOG-PS 2, HR (95% CI) = 1.28 (0.90-1.81); ECOG-PS 3/4, HR (95% CI) = 2.41 (1.32-4.39]). Patients with CRC cachexia with an ECOG-PS score of 2 or 3-4 and a high inflammation had a shorter median survival time, compared with patients with an ECOG-PS score of 0/1 and a low inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: The systemic inflammatory markers LCR, CAR and CRP have stable prognostic values in patients with CRC. The ECOG-PS may be an independent risk factor for CRC. Combined evaluation of systemic inflammation and ECOG-PS in patients with CRC cachexia could provide a simple survival prediction.

[Diagnosis and treatment of four cases of asymptomatic and non-hydrous ureteral calculi].

This paper analyzed the clinical data, diagnosis and treatment of 4 asymptomatic patients with ureteral calculi without hydrops in our hospital from October 2018 to January 2019, and comprehensively discussed the previous literature. The 4 patients in this group had no obvious clinical symptoms, no positive stones were found in the B-ultrasound of the urinary system, and no hydroureter and hydroureter of the affected side was found. Urinary CT scan confirmed ureteral stones. They were all located in the lower ureter, and the stones obstructed the lumen. The stones were round and smooth, and there was no obvious hyperplasia and edema in the surrounding mucosa. The lithotripsy was completed in the first-stage operation, and the DJ catheter was left behind for one month after the operation. Based on the clinical diagnosis and treatment process of the 4 cases of asymptomatic calculi in this group and the analysis of previous studies, these patients were mostly detected by imaging examinations or other systematic imaging examinations during the regular review of urinary calculi. Ureteral stones with obstruction did not necessarily have stone-related symptoms. The onset of renal colic involved an increase in intraluminal pressure, related stimulation of nerve endings, smooth muscle spasms caused by stretching of the ureteral wall, and systemic changes in cytokines and related hormones. Cascade reactions, etc., were associated with the movement of stones down. Ureteral stones without hydrops were mostly located in the lower ureter, which had a certain buffering effect on obstructive pressure. Asymptomatic ureteral calculi could also induce irreversible damage to renal function, and the proportion of damage increased with the diameter of the stone. Patients with a history of urinary calculi, especially those with asymptomatic stones for the first time, should be paid attention to during clinical follow-up. At present, there are few research reports on asymptomatic and non-accumulating ureteral calculi. We analyze the clinical diagnosis and treatment process and characteristics of this group of patients combined with previous literature to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of such patients.

Abnormal presentation of pregnancy and postpartum initial-onset systemic lupus erythematosus combined with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage: A case report.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that most commonly occurs in women of childbearing age. However, cases of SLE with abnormal pregnancy as the initial manifestation, involving the development of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), have rarely been reported. Herein, we report the case of a young woman who underwent a cesarean section for fetal distress and growth restriction at 35 + 1 weeks' gestation. Following discharge, she experienced progressive worsening of anemia and chest tightness, which was later diagnosed as SLE complicated by DAH.

Brassinosteroid signaling regulator BIM1 integrates brassinolide and jasmonic acid signaling during cold tolerance in apple.

Although brassinolide (BR) and jasmonic acid (JA) play essential roles in the regulation of cold stress responses, the molecular basis of their crosstalk remains elusive. Here, we show a key component of BR signaling in apple (Malus × domestica), BR INSENSITIVE1 (BRI1)-EMS-SUPPRESSOR1 (BES1)-INTERACTING MYC-LIKE PROTEIN1 (MdBIM1), increases cold tolerance by directly activating expression of C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR1 (MdCBF1) and forming a complex with C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR2 (MdCBF2) to enhance MdCBF2-activated transcription of cold-responsive genes. Two repressors of JA signaling, JAZMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN1 (MdJAZ1) and JAZMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN2 (MdJAZ2), interact with MdBIM1 to integrate BR and JA signaling under cold stress. MdJAZ1 and MdJAZ2 reduce MdBIM1-promoted cold stress tolerance by attenuating transcriptional activation of MdCBF1 expression by MdBIM1 and interfering with the formation of the MdBIM1-MdCBF2 complex. Furthermore, the E3 ubiquitin ligase ARABIDOPSIS TÓXICOS en LEVADURA73 (MdATL73) decreases MdBIM1-promoted cold tolerance by targeting MdBIM1 for ubiquitination and degradation. Our results not only reveal crosstalk between BR and JA signaling mediated by a JAZ-BIM1-CBF module but also provide insights into the posttranslational regulatory mechanism of BR signaling.

Kekulé Moiré Superlattices.

In this paper, we discuss a new moiré system where the long moiré periodicity emerges from two dissimilar van der Waals layers with vastly different lattice constants. We reconstruct the first layer using a 3 by 3 supercell resembling the Kekulé distortion in graphene, and such reconstruction becomes nearly commensurate with the second layer. We term this construction a Kekulé moiré superlattice, which enables coupling between moiré bands from remote valleys in momentum space. Kekulé moiré superlattices can be realized in heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides and metal phosphorus trichalcogenides such as MoTe2/MnPSe3. By first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic MnPSe3 strongly couples the otherwise degenerate Kramers' valleys of MoTe2, resulting in valley pseudospin textures that depend on the Néel vector direction, stacking geometry, and external fields. With one hole per moiré supercell, the system becomes a Chern insulator with highly tunable topological phases.

[Biological Evaluation and Key Stress Factor Diagnosis of Compound Contaminated Soil Based on Environmental DNA].

Healthy biological community composition and diversity are the basis for soil ecosystems to provide complete ecological functions and services. The current technical bottleneck in soil pollution control is the lack of systematic and comprehensive biodiversity indicators. In this study, the compound-polluted soil in an industrial park was taken as the object, and environmental DNA (eDNA)technology was used to monitor and analyze the composition of the biological community in the polluted soil. The environmental DNA-species sensitivity distribution (eDNA-SSD) method was constructed to diagnose the key stress factors and their ecological threshold. The results showed that:① compound pollution did not have a significant impact on the α-diversity of soil organisms in the park but led to changes in the composition of biological communities and dominant species with high relative abundance. The dominant groups in the polluted soil were Proteobacteria (25.54%), Ascomycota (15.65%), Actinobacteria (8.75%), and Chloroflexi (7.64%). ② Environmental factors accounted for 51.27% of the differences in soil biodistribution, and aniline, sulfate, petroleum hydrocarbon, and lead were the key stress factors for soil biomes. Among them, aniline had the most significant effect on the community distribution of bacteria (P=0.030), sulfate on fungi (P=0.025), and metazoans (P=0.032). ③ The ecological risk threshold (hazardous concentration for 5% of species, HC5) of pollutants with 95% species as the protection target showed a gradient decreasing trend of sulfate (470.00 mg·kg-1), petroleum hydrocarbon (17.00 mg·kg-1), lead (13.00 mg·kg-1), arsenic (6.20 mg·kg-1), 4-chloroaniline (0.16 mg·kg-1), and aniline (0.11 mg·kg-1). Nevertheless, the existing soil risk control value was significantly higher than the ecological risk value, indicating that the existing control standards targeting human health were not suitable for protecting soil health. The comprehensive pollution index showed that the soil pollution in the park was mostly mild pollution accompanied by heavy pollution at individual points. The biological evaluation method based on eDNA-SSD could achieve the comprehensive evaluation of composite pollution in the absence of the benchmark value of pollutants and at the same time better distinguish the differences in soil biological community structure and composition under different pollution levels (P=0.053). In conclusion, the environmental DNA soil biomonitoring and assessment method developed in this study has guiding significance and application value for soil ecosystem restoration assessment.

MdVQ10 promotes wound-triggered leaf senescence in association with MdWRKY75 and undergoes antagonistic modulation of MdCML15 and MdJAZs in apple.

Wounding stress leads to leaf senescence. However, the underlying molecular mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of the MdVQ10-MdWRKY75 module in wound-induced leaf senescence. MdWRKY75 was identified as a key positive modulator of wound-induced leaf senescence by activating the expression of the senescence-associated genes MdSAG12 and MdSAG18. MdVQ10 interacted with MdWRKY75 to enhance MdWRKY75-activated transcription of MdSAG12 and MdSAG18, thereby promoting leaf senescence triggered by wounding. In addition, the calmodulin-like protein MdCML15 promoted MdVQ10-mediated leaf senescence by stimulating the interaction between MdVQ10 and MdWRKY75. Moreover, the jasmonic acid signaling repressors MdJAZ12 and MdJAZ14 antagonized MdVQ10-mediated leaf senescence by weakening the MdVQ10-MdWRKY75 interaction. Our results demonstrate that the MdVQ10-MdWRKY75 module is a key modulator of wound-induced leaf senescence and provides insights into the mechanism of leaf senescence caused by wounding.

Electrochemically Mediated S-Glycosylation of 1-Thiosugars with Xanthene Derivatives.

An efficient electrochemical dehydrogenative cross-coupling of benzylic C-H bonds with 1-thiosugars at room temperature is described. The direct S-glycosylation protocol avoids using any oxidant, which provides facile access to various glycosylated xanthene derivatives with up to 91% yield. This current electrooxidative reaction is characterized by high atom economy, high efficiency, mild reaction conditions, being environmentally benign, and excellent functional group tolerance. Moreover, preliminary mechanistic investigations reveal that the reaction involves a free radical process.

Gate-Tunable Phonon Magnetic Moment in Bilayer Graphene.

We develop a first-principles quantum scheme to calculate the phonon magnetic moment in solids. As a showcase example, we apply our method to study gated bilayer graphene, a material with strong covalent bonds. According to the classical theory based on the Born effective charge, the phonon magnetic moment in this system should vanish, yet our quantum mechanical calculations find significant phonon magnetic moments. Furthermore, the magnetic moment is highly tunable by changing the gate voltage. Our results firmly establish the necessity of the quantum mechanical treatment, and identify small-gap covalent materials as a promising platform for studying tunable phonon magnetic moment.