Global Spread Dynamics and Intrinsic Evolutionary Dynamics of Apple Chlorotic Leaf Spot Virus Whole-Genome Sequences over the Last 30 Years.

Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV; genus Trichovirus) is an economically important virus. Approximately 101 ACLSV whole-genome sequences were obtained from NCBI and used to explore the evolutionary dynamics of ACLSV. The time to the most recent common ancestor of ACLSV based on BEAST analysis appeared on an apple host from Canada in 1918 and then spread around the world in three ways concurrent with host spread. The maximum clade credibility tree of ACLSV shows that the mean evolution rate was 4.92 × 10-4 substitutions per site per year (subs/site/year), and we found that, during host evolution, the rate of evolution was mostly 2.31 × 10-4 to 2.72 × 10-4 subs/site/year. The rate of geographic evolution was 5.51 × 10-4 to 6.17 × 10-4 subs/site/year. To further explore the intrinsic changes in ACLSV during the process of geographic and host spread, we explored the secondary structural changes of the ACLSV coat protein (CP), which were mainly concentrated in four regions-20 to 40, 70 to 90, 120 to 140, and 180 to 193-which are related to the presence or absence and change in length of the ß-turn, ß strand, coil, and α helix, respectively. We then explored the codon usage preference within the CP across the migration pathways of ACLSV. These comprehensive analyses not only reveal the changes in ACLSV in the last 30 years but also further elucidate the intrinsic evolutionary dynamics of ACLSV. This is also the first report on the intrinsic evolutionary dynamics of ACLSV.

Upside-down InAs/InAs1-xSbx type-II superlattice-based nBn mid-infrared photodetectors with an AlGaAsSb quaternary alloy barrier.

Ga-free InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) are emerging as candidate materials for high temperature operation of mid-infrared photodetectors, which are critical for infrared technology with an aim to provide low-cost and compact detection systems. In this work, by utilizing upside-down device structure, a closely lattice-matched Al0.83Ga0.17AsSb quaternary alloy as electron barrier was pre-grown before the growth of InAs/InAsSb T2SLs absorber in a nBn device. Based on this design, we have demonstrated 5-µm cut-off mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) photodetectors that exhibited a dark current density of 1.55 × 10-4 A/cm2 at an operation bias 400mV at 150K. A saturated quantum efficiency at ∼4.0 µm reaches 37.5% with a 2 µm absorber and the peak responsivity reaches 1.2 A/W, which yields a peak specific detectivity as high as ∼1.82 × 1011 cm·H z1/2/W at a forward bias of 400mV.

Exercise interventions on patients with end-stage renal disease: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE:: This study aimed to conduct an up-to-date systematic review of the literature to evaluate the effects of exercise on fatigue, anxiety, depression, physical activity, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with end-stage renal disease. DATA SOURCES:: We searched PubMed (October 2018), Embase (from 1966 to October 2018), Web of Science (from 1900 to October 2018), The Cochrane Library (October 2018), and references of papers. METHODS:: This study includes randomized controlled trials that analyzed the combined effects of exercise intervention on patients with end-stage renal disease. Two reviewers independently screened the retrieved records, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias for inclusion in the study. The effects of exercise intervention were conducted in the meta-analysis using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS:: A total of 614 participants were included in 13 randomized controlled studies. The study revealed that exercise can improve fatigue, anxiety, depression, physical activity, and QOL. The effect value results were as follows: (1) fatigue, -0.97 (95% confidence interval (CI) -1.32 to -0.62, P < 0.00001); (2) anxiety, -0.78 (95% CI -1.17 to -0.39, P < 0.0001); (3) depression, -0.85 (95% CI -1.13 to -0.56, P < 0.00001) (4) physical activity, 38.15 (95% CI 21.20 to 55.10, P < 0.0001); (5) QOL, the physical component of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), 4.73 (95% CI 1.92 to 7.54, P = 0.0010); and (6) the mental component of the SF-36, 3.42 (95% CI 0.27 to 6.56, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION:: Exercise intervention is more effective in fatigue, anxiety, depression, physical activity, and QOL. However, large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the appropriate types of exercise and optimal time for patients with end-stage renal disease.

Thermally Enhanced and Long Lifetime Red TADF Carbon Dots via Multi-Confinement and Phosphorescence Assisted Energy Transfer.

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials, which can harvest both singlet and triplet excitons for high-efficiency emission, have attracted widespread concern for their enormous applications. Nevertheless, luminescence thermal quenching severely limits the efficiency and operating stability in TADF materials and devices at high temperature. Herein, a surface engineering strategy is adopted to obtain unique carbon dots (CDs)-based thermally enhanced TADF materials with ≈250% enhancement from 273 to 343 K via incorporating seed CDs into ionic crystal network. The rigid crystal network can simultaneously boost reverse intersystem crossing process via enhancing spin-orbit coupling between singlet and triplet states and suppressing non-radiative transition rate, contributing to the thermally enhanced TADF character. Benefiting from efficient energy transfer from triplet states of phosphorescence center to singlet states of CDs, TADF emission at ≈600 nm in CDs displays a long lifetime up to 109.6 ms, outperforming other red organic TADF materials. Thanks to variable decay rates of the delayed emission centers, time and temperature-dependent delayed emission color has been first realized in CDs-based delayed emission materials. The CDs with thermally enhanced and time-/temperature-dependent emission in one material system can offer new opportunities in information protection and processing.

1H-MR spectroscopy in grading of cerebral glioma: A new view point, MRS image quality assessment.

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive preoperative prediction of histological grading is essential for clinical management of cerebral glioma. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the association between the image quality assessment of 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and accurate grading of glioma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 98 glioma patients confirmed by pathology were retrospectively recruited in this single-center study. All patients underwent 1H-MRS examination at 3.0T before surgery. According to WHO standards, all cases were divided into two groups: low-grade glioma (grade I and II, 48 cases) and high-grade glioma (grades III and IV, 50 cases). The metabolite ratios in both grades were calculated before and after image quality assessment. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the capacity of each ratio in glioma grading. RESULTS: The Cho/Cr, Cho/NAA and NAA/Cr metabolite ratios had certain differences in each glioma group before and after MRS image quality assessment. In the low-grade glioma group, there was a dramatic difference in the Cho/Cr ratio before and after image quality assessment (p = 0.011). After MRS image quality assessment, the accuracy of glioma grading was significantly improved. The Cho/Cr ratio with 83.3% sensitivity and 93.7% specificity is the best index of glioma grading, with the optimal cutoff value of the Cho/Cr ratio being 3.72. CONCLUSION: The image quality of MRS does affect the metabolite ratios and the results of glioma grading. MRS image quality assessment can observably improve the accuracy rate of glioma grading. The Cho/Cr ratio has the best diagnostic performance in differentiating high-grade from low-grade glioma.

Enhancement by Metallic Tube Filling of the Mechanical Properties of Electromagnetic Wave Absorbent Polymethacrylimide Foam.

By the addition of a carbon-based electromagnetic absorbing agent during the foaming process, a novel electromagnetic absorbent polymethacrylimide (PMI) foam was obtained. The proposed foam exhibits excellent electromagnetic wave-absorbing properties, with absorptivity exceeding 85% at a large frequency range of 4.9⁻18 GHz. However, its poor mechanical properties would limit its application in load-carrying structures. In the present study, a novel enhancement approach is proposed by inserting metallic tubes into pre-perforated holes of PMI foam blocks. The mechanical properties of the tube-enhanced PMI foams were studied experimentally under compressive loading conditions. The elastic modulus, compressive strength, energy absorption per unit volume, and energy absorption per unit mass were increased by 127.9%, 133.8%, 54.2%, and 46.4%, respectively, by the metallic tube filling, and the density increased only by 5.3%. The failure mechanism of the foams was also explored. We found that the weaker interfaces between the foam and the electromagnetic absorbing agent induced crack initiation and subsequent collapses, which destroyed the structural integrity. The excellent mechanical and electromagnetic absorbing properties make the novel structure much more competitive in electromagnetic wave stealth applications, while acting simultaneously as load-carrying structures.