Intergrowth Zeolites, Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalysis.

Microporous zeolites that can act as heterogeneous catalysts have continued to attract a great deal of academic and industrial interest, but current progress in their synthesis and application is restricted to single-phase zeolites, severely underestimating the potential of intergrowth frameworks. Compared with single-phase zeolites, intergrowth zeolites possess unique properties, such as different diffusion pathways and molecular confinement, or special crystalline pore environments for binding metal active sites. This review first focuses on the structural features and synthetic details of all the intergrowth zeolites, especially providing some insightful discussion of several potential frameworks. Subsequently, characterization methods for intergrowth zeolites are introduced, and highlighting fundamental features of these crystals. Then, the applications of intergrowth zeolites in several of the most active areas of catalysis are presented, including selective catalytic reduction of NOx by ammonia (NH3-SCR), methanol to olefins (MTO), petrochemicals and refining, fine chemicals production, and biomass conversion on Beta, and the relationship between structure and catalytic activity was profiled from the perspective of intergrowth grain boundary structure. Finally, the synthesis, characterization, and catalysis of intergrowth zeolites are summarized in a comprehensive discussion, and a brief outlook on the current challenges and future directions of intergrowth zeolites is indicated.

A phase I trial of autologous RAK cell immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) remains a challenge worldwide. Here, we introduced a phase I trial of autologous RAK cell therapy in patients with mRCC whose cancers progressed after prior systemic therapy. Although RAK cells have been used in clinic for many years, there has been no dose-escalation study to demonstrate its safety and efficacy. METHODS: We conducted a phase I trial with a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design to investigate the dose-related safety and efficacy of RAK cells in patients with mRCC whose cancers have failed to response to systemic therapy (ChiCTR1900021334). RESULTS: Autologous RAK cells, primarily composed of CD8+ T and NKT cells, were infused intravenously to patients at a dose of 5 × 109, 1 × 1010 or 1.5 × 1010 cells every 28 days per cycle. Our study demonstrated general safety of RAK cells in a total of 12 patients. Four patients (33.3%) showed tumor shrinkage, two of them achieved durable partial responses. Peripheral blood analysis showed a significant increase in absolute counts of CD3+ and CD8+ T cells after infusion, with a greater fold change observed in naive CD8+ T cells (CD8+CD45RA+). Higher peak values of IL-2 and IFN-γ were observed in responders after RAK infusion. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that autologous RAK cell immunotherapy is safe and has clinical activity in previously treated mRCC patients. The improvement in peripheral blood immune profiling after RAK cell infusion highlights its potential as a cancer treatment. Further investigation is necessary to understand its clinical utility.

Bamboo Inspired Silicon Anodes with Ultrahigh Initial Coulombic Efficiency and High Capacity for the Li-Ion Batteries.

Silicon is regarded as the most promising candidate due to its ultrahigh theoretical energy density (4200 mAh g-1). However, the large volume expansion of silicon nanoparticles would result in the destruction of electrodes and a shortened cycle lifetime. Here, inspired by the natural structure of bamboo, the silicon anode with vascular bundle-like structure is proposed to improve the electrochemical performance for the first time. The dense channel wall in the silicon anode can accommodate the volume change of silicon nanoparticles and the transport of ions and electrons is also enhanced. The obtained silicon anodes display excellent mechanical properties (50% compression resilience and the average peel force of 4.34 N) and good wettability. What more, the silicon anodes exhibit high initial coulombic efficiency (94.5%), excellent cycle stability (2100 mAh g-1 after 300 cycles) which stands out among the silicon anodes. Specially, the silicon anode with impressive areal capacity of 36.36 mAh cm-2 and initial coulombic efficiency of 84% is also achieved. This work offers a novel and efficient strategy for the preparation of the flexible electrodes with outstanding performance.

Glucocorticoid-Induced Myopathy: Typology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Glucocorticoid-induced myopathy is a non-inflammatory toxic myopathy typified by proximal muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, fatigue, and easy fatigability. These vague symptoms coupled with underlying disorders may mask the signs of glucocorticoid-induced myopathy, leading to an underestimation of the disease's impact. This review briefly summarizes the classification, pathogenesis, and treatment options for glucocorticoid-induced muscle wasting. Additionally, we discuss current diagnostic measures in clinical research and routine care used for diagnosing and monitoring glucocorticoid-induced myopathy, which includes gait speed tests, muscle strength tests, hematologic tests, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electromyography, quantitative muscle ultrasound, histological examination, and genetic analysis. Continuous monitoring of patients receiving glucocorticoid therapy plays an important role in enabling early detection of glucocorticoid-induced myopathy, allowing physicians to modify treatment plans before significant clinical weakness arises.

Effective synthesis of high-content fructooligosaccharides in engineered Aspergillus niger.

BACKGROUND: Aspergillus niger ATCC 20611 is an industrially important fructooligosaccharides (FOS) producer since it produces the ß-fructofuranosidase with superior transglycosylation activity, which is responsible for the conversion of sucrose to FOS accompanied by the by-product (glucose) generation. This study aims to consume glucose to enhance the content of FOS by heterologously expressing glucose oxidase and peroxidase in engineered A. niger. RESULTS: Glucose oxidase was successfully expressed and co-localized with ß-fructofuranosidase in mycelia. These mycelia were applied to synthesis of FOS, which possessed an increased purity of 60.63% from 52.07%. Furthermore, peroxidase was expressed in A. niger and reached 7.70 U/g, which could remove the potential inhibitor of glucose oxidase to facilitate the FOS synthesis. Finally, the glucose oxidase-expressing strain and the peroxidase-expressing strain were jointly used to synthesize FOS, which content achieved 71.00%. CONCLUSIONS: This strategy allows for obtaining high-content FOS by the multiple enzymes expressed in the industrial fungus, avoiding additional purification processes used in the production of oligosaccharides. This study not only facilitated the high-purity FOS synthesis, but also demonstrated the potential of A. niger ATCC 20611 as an enzyme-producing cell factory.

The developments of C-N bond formation via electrochemical Ritter-type reactions.

With the development of organic electrochemical synthesis, a series of notable achievements have been made in electrochemical Ritter amination reactions, which have enriched the methods available for constructing C-N bonds. In this review, electrochemical Ritter amination reactions are introduced based on the classification of reaction substrates, including olefins, aromatics, alkylbenzenes, and the less reported carboxylic acids, ketones, sulfides, and alkanes. The application of electrochemical technology to Ritter reactions has improved the harsh conditions of the traditional reactions, and extended the substrate scope and the structural diversity of the products. The application value of Ritter reactions in organic synthesis has also been further expanded.

Solar-blind ultraviolet photodetector based on Nb2C/ß-Ga2O3heterojunction.

ß-Ga2O3has been widely investigated for its stability and thermochemical properties. However, the preparation ofß-Ga2O3thin films requires complex growth techniques and high growth temperatures, and this has hindered the application ofß-Ga2O3thin films. In this study,ß-Ga2O3thin films with good crystalline quality were prepared using a green method, and an ultraviolet (UV) detector based onß-Ga2O3with a photocurrent of 2.54 × 10-6A and a dark current of 1.19 × 10-8A has been developed. Two-dimensional materials have become premium materials for applications in optoelectronic devices due to their high conductivity. Here, we use the suitable energy band structure between Nb2C and Ga2O3to create a high carrier migration barrier, which reduces the dark current of the device by an order of magnitude. In addition, the device exhibits solar-blind detection, high responsiveness (28 A W-1) and good stability. Thus, the Nb2C/ß-Ga2O3heterojunction is expected to be one of the promising devices in the field of UV photoelectric detection.

Boosting N2O Decomposition by Fabricating the Cs-O-Co Structure over Co3O4 with Single-Layer Atoms of Cs.

Developing effective catalysts for N2O decomposition at low temperatures is challenging. Herein, the Cs-O-Co structure, as the active species fabricated by single-layer atoms of Cs over pure Co3O4, originally exhibited great catalytic activity of N2O decomposition in simulated vehicle exhaust and flue gas from nitric acid plants. A similar catalytic performance was also observed for Na, K, and Rb alkali metals over Co3O4 catalysts for N2O decomposition, illustrating the prevalence of alkali-metal-promotion over Co3O4 in practical applications. The catalytic results indicated that the TOF of Co3O4 catalysts loaded by 4 wt% Cs was nearly 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of pure Co3O4 catalysts at 300 °C. Interestingly, the conversions of N2O decomposition over Co3O4 catalysts doped by the same Cs loadings were significantly inhibited. Characterization results indicated that the primary active Cs-O-Co structure was formed by highly orbital hybridization between the Cs 6s and the O 2p orbital over the supported Co3O4 catalysts, where Cs could donate electrons to Co3+ and produce much more Co2+. In contrast, the doped Co3O4 catalysts were dominated by Cs2O2 species; meanwhile, CsOH species was generated by adsorbed water vapor led to a significant decrease in catalytic activity. In situ DRIFTS, rigorous kinetics, and DFT results elaborated the reaction mechanism of N2O decomposition, where the direct decomposition of adsorbed N2O was the kinetically relevant step over supported catalysts in the absence of O2. Meanwhile, the assistance of adsorbed N2O decomposition by activated oxygen was observed as the kinetically relevant step in the presence of O2. The results may pave a promising path toward developing alkali-metal-promotion catalysts for efficient N2O decomposition.

Regulating Electron Metal-Support Interaction to Suppress N2O Formation in the Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Ammonia.

N2O is a common byproduct in the selective catalytic oxidation of ammonia, and its generation often needs to be inhibited due to its strong greenhouse effect. In this paper, using Ag/ZSO-Y as a model catalyst, the N2O selectivity was reduced by 30% through modulation of the electron metal-support interaction. The results demonstrate that the work function of the support can be regulated by the content of the doping element. As the Zr content increases in SnO2, the work function of the support decreases. Moreover, there is a positive correlation between the charge transfer amount and the work function of the support. A series of in situ DRIFTS and density functional theory calculations revealed that the -NO and -N reactions are the primary pathways for N2O formation. By adjustment of the work function of the support through varying the Zr doping level, the electronic structure of Ag NPs was further tuned, resulting in an increased reaction energy barrier for -NO and -N reactions, effectively suppressing N2O formation.

Dose-response associations of maternal prenatal noise exposure duration with antepartum depression status.

BACKGROUND: Antepartum depression has been reported to be associated with the intensity of maternal prenatal noise exposure; however, the association between noise exposure duration and the development of antepartum depression has not been established. This study aimed to determine the total and trimester-specific association of prenatal noise exposure duration with the development of antepartum depression. METHODS: From May 2018 to June 2021, we recruited 2,166 pregnant women from Shengjing Hospital, northeast China. We used a standardized questionnaire to assess women's prenatal noise exposure and used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to assess pregnant women's antepartum depression during the 1st -, 2nd -, and 3rd - trimesters. We calculated a cumulative noise exposure score ranging from 0 to 3, with a higher score reflecting higher frequency and longer duration of noise exposure during pregnancy. RESULTS: Women who were exposed to noise for ≥ 15 min per day had an increased risk of antepartum depression compared with women who were not exposed to noise during pregnancy [odds ratio (OR) = 1.83, 95%CI:1.18, 2.83]. Noise exposure in a specific trimester was associated with higher risk of depression in the same trimester and subsequent trimesters. We observed increases in antepartum depression risk with increasing cumulative noise exposure scores (P for trend < 0.05 for all). Pregnant women with the highest scores had the highest risk of antepartum depression during the first (OR = 1.30, 95%CI:1.02, 1.65), second (OR = 1.75, 95%CI:1.23, 2.50) trimesters. Women with a cumulative noise exposure score of 2 had the highest risk of antepartum depression during the third trimester (OR = 1.79, 95%CI:1.14, 2.80), as well as during the whole pregnancy (OR = 1.94, 95%CI:1.14, 3.30). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal prenatal noise exposure duration was positively associated with antepartum depression risk in a dose-response manner. It is necessary to develop strategies by which pregnant women can avoid excessive exposure to noise to prevent antepartum depression.

Development and validation of the osteoporosis scale among the system of quality of life instruments for chronic diseases QLICD-OS (V2.0).

BACKGROUND: Quality of life of osteoporosis patients had caused widespread concern, due to high incidence and difficulty to cure. Scale specifics for osteoporosis and suitable for Chinese cultural background lacked. This study aimed to develop an osteoporosis scale in Quality of Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases system, namely QLICD-OS (V2.0). METHODS: Procedural decision-making approach of nominal group, focus group and modular approach were adopted. Our scale was developed based on experience of establishing scales at home and abroad. In this study, Quality of life measurements were performed on 127 osteoporosis patients before and after treatment to evaluate the psychometric properties. Validity was evaluated by qualitative analysis, item-domain correlation analysis, multi-scaling analysis and factor analysis; the SF-36 scale was used as criterion to carry out correlation analysis for criterion-related validity. The reliability was evaluated by the internal consistency coefficients Cronbach's α, test-retest reliability Pearson correlation r. Paired t-tests were performed on data of ​​the scale before and after treatment, with Standardized Response Mean (SRM) being calculated to evaluate the responsiveness. RESULTS: The QLICD-OS, composed of a general module (28 items) and an osteoporosis-specific module (14 items), had good content validity. Correlation analysis and factor analysis confirmed the construct, with the item having a strong correlation (most > 0.40) with its own domains/principle components, and a weak correlation (< 0.40) with other domains/principle components. Correlation coefficient between the similar domains of QLICD-OS and SF-36 showed reasonable criterion-related validity, with all coefficients r being greater than 0.40 exception of physical function of SF-36 and physical domain of QLICD-OS (0.24). Internal consistency reliability of QLICD-OS in all domains was greater than 0.7 except the specific module. The test-retest reliability coefficients (Pearson r) in all domains and overall score are higher than 0.80. Score changes after treatment were statistically significant, with SRM ranging from 0.35 to 0.79, indicating that QLICD-OS could be rated as medium responsiveness. CONCLUSION: As the first osteoporosis-specific quality of life scale developed by the modular approach in China, the QLICD-OS showed good reliability, validity and medium responsiveness, and could be used to measure quality of life in osteoporosis patients.

Associated factors of periodontitis and predicted study among young man in China: a population-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis represents the foremost oral condition in young men, strongly correlated with socioeconomic elements and oral health behaviors. This research aimed to assess the prevalence of periodontitis and associated associations with socio-demographics and oral health practices for subsequent Hazard Ratio (HR) estimation. METHODS: A total of 46,476 young men were recruited to the study between August 2022 and October 2023. A questionnaire on socio-demographic factors and oral health-related behaviors related to periodontitis was completed. The standard procedure was used for oral examination. Logistic regression and hazard ratios were used to estimate the influencing factors, whereas the nomogram was used to predict the risk of periodontitis in young men. RESULTS: A total of 46,476 young men were surveyed and completed the questionnaire. The overall prevalence of periodontitis among young men was 1.74%. Out of these, 1.7% had mild periodontitis and 0.6% had moderate periodontitis. Age and dental calculus were important factors in the periodontal health of young men. This nomogram, which includes 7 easily obtainable clinical characteristics routinely collected during periodontitis risk assessment, provides clinicians with a user-friendly tool to assess the risk of periodontal disease in young men. CONCLUSIONS: Regular dental prophylaxis is crucial for young men to maintain their gingival health and prevent the onset of periodontitis. Dental calculus plays a prominent role in this matter, as it serves as a significant contributing factor.

CTNNAL1 promotes the structural integrity of bronchial epithelial cells through the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway.

Adhesion molecules play critical roles in maintaining the structural integrity of the airway epithelium in airways under stress. Previously, we reported that catenin alpha-like 1 (CTNNAL1) is downregulated in an asthma animal model and upregulated at the edge of human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) after ozone stress. In this work, we explore the potential role of CTNNAL1 in the structural adhesion of HBECs and its possible mechanism. We construct a CTNNAL1 ‒/‒ mouse model with CTNNAL1-RNAi recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) in the lung and a CTNNAL1-silencing cell line stably transfected with CTNNAL1-siRNA recombinant plasmids. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining reveals that CTNNAL1 ‒/‒ mice have denuded epithelial cells and structural damage to the airway. Silencing of CTNNAL1 in HBECs inhibits cell proliferation and weakens extracellular matrix adhesion and intercellular adhesion, possibly through the action of the cytoskeleton. We also find that the expressions of the structural adhesion-related molecules E-cadherin, integrin ß1, and integrin ß4 are significantly decreased in ozone-treated cells than in vector control cells. In addition, our results show that the expression levels of RhoA/ROCK1 are decreased after CTNNAL1 silencing. Treatment with Y27632, a ROCK inhibitor, abolished the expressions of adhesion molecules induced by ozone in CTNNAL1-overexpressing HBECs. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that CTNNAL1 plays a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of the airway epithelium under ozone challenge, and is associated with epithelial cytoskeleton dynamics and the expressions of adhesion-related molecules via the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway.

Astaxanthin activates the Nrf2/Keap1/HO-1 pathway to inhibit oxidative stress and ferroptosis, reducing triphenyl phosphate (TPhP)-induced neurodevelopmental toxicity.

Triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) serves as a major organophosphorus flame retardant, and its induced neurodevelopmental toxicity has attracted widespread attention, but the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we involved zebrafish to explore the new mechanism of TPhP inducing oxidative stress and ferroptosis to promote neurodevelopmental toxicity. The results suggested that TPhP affected the embryonic development, reduced the number of new neurons, and led to abnormal neural behavior in zebrafish larvae. TPhP also induced ROS accumulation, activated the antioxidant defense signal Nrf2 and Keap1, and significantly changed the activities of Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), Adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and glutathione S-transferase (GST). In addition, TPhP induced ferroptosis in zebrafish, which was reflected in the increase of Fe2+ content, the abnormal expression of GPX4 protein and genes related to iron metabolism (gpx4a, slc7a11, acsl4b, tfa, slc40a1, fth1b, tfr2, tfr1a, tfr1b and ncoa4). Astaxanthin intervention specifically inhibited ROS levels, and reversed SLC7A11 and GPX4 expression levels and Fe2+ metabolism thus alleviating ferroptosis induced by TPhP. Astaxanthin also partially reversed the activity of AChE, GST and the expression of neurodevelopmental-related genes (gap43, gfap, neurog1 and syn2a), so as to partially rescue the embryonic developmental abnormalities and motor behavior disorders induced by TPhP. More interestingly, the expression of mitochondrial apoptosis-related protein BAX, anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2, Caspase3 and Caspase9 was significantly altered in the TPhP exposed group, which could be also reversed by Astaxanthin intervention. In summary, our results suggested that TPhP exposure can induce oxidative stress and ferroptosis, thereby causing neurodevelopment toxicity to zebrafish, while Astaxanthin can partially reverse oxidative stress and reduce the neurodevelopmental toxicity of zebrafish larvae by activating Nrf2/Keap1/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Robustness of higher-order interdependent networks with reinforced nodes.

In reality, pairwise interactions are no longer sufficient to describe the higher-order interactions between nodes, such as brain networks, social networks, etc., which often contain groups of three or more nodes. Since the failure of one node in a high-order network can lead to the failure of all simplices in which it is located and quickly propagates to the whole system through the interdependencies between networks, multilayered high-order interdependent networks are challenged with high vulnerability risks. To increase the robustness of higher-order networks, in this paper, we proposed a theoretical model of a two-layer partial high-order interdependent network, where a proportion of reinforced nodes are introduced that can function and support their simplices and components, even losing connection with the giant component. We study the order parameter of the proposed model, including the giant component and functional components containing at least one reinforced node, via theoretical analysis and simulations. Rich phase transition phenomena can be observed by varying the density of 2-simplices and the proportion of the network's reinforced nodes. Increasing the density of 2-simplices makes a double transition appear in the network. The proportion of reinforced nodes can alter the type of second transition of the network from discontinuous to continuous or transition-free, which is verified on the double random simplicial complex, double scale-free simplicial complex, and real-world datasets, indicating that reinforced nodes can significantly enhance the robustness of the network and can prevent networks from abrupt collapse. Therefore, the proposed model provides insights for designing robust interdependent infrastructure networks.

Sol-Gel Synthesized Amorphous (InxGa1-x)2O3 for UV Photodetection with High Responsivity.

ß-Ga2O3 photodetectors have the advantages of low dark current and strong radiation resistance in UV detection. However, the limited photocurrent has restricted their applications. Herein, MSM UV photodetectors based on (InxGa1-x)2O3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) by a sol-gel method were fabricated and studied. The doping of indium ions in Ga2O3 leads to lattice distortion and promotes the formation of oxygen vacancies. The oxygen vacancies in (InxGa1-x)2O3 can be modulated by various proportions of indium, and the increased oxygen vacancies contribute to the enhancement of electron concentration. The results show that the amorphous In0.4Ga1.6O3 photodetector exhibited improved performances, including a high light-to-dark current ratio (2.8 × 103) and high responsivity (739.2 A/W). This work provides a promising semiconductor material In0.4Ga1.6O3 for high-performance MSM UV photodetectors.

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the EIN3/EIL Transcription Factor Gene Family in Doubled Haploid (DH) Poplar.

Ethylene (ET) is an important phytohormone that regulates plant growth, development and stress responses. The ethylene-insensitive3/ethylene-insensitive3-like (EIN3/EIL) transcription factor family, as a key regulator of the ET signal transduction pathway, plays an important role in regulating the expression of ET-responsive genes. Although studies of EIN3/EIL family members have been completed in many species, their role in doubled haploid (DH) poplar derived from another culture of diploid Populus simonii × P. nigra (donor tree, DT) remains ambiguous. In this study, a total of seven EIN3/EIL gene family members in the DH poplar genome were identified. Basic physical and chemical property analyses of these genes were performed, and these proteins were predicted to be localized to the nucleus. According to the phylogenetic relationship, EIN3/EIL genes were divided into two groups, and the genes in the same group had a similar gene structure and conserved motifs. The expression patterns of EIN3/EIL genes in the apical buds of different DH poplar plants were analyzed based on transcriptome data. At the same time, the expression patterns of PsnEIL1, PsnEIN3, PsnEIL4 and PsnEIL5 genes in different tissues of different DH plants were detected via RT-qPCR, including the apical buds, young leaves, functional leaves, xylem, cambium and roots. The findings presented above indicate notable variations in the expression levels of PsnEIL genes across various tissues of distinct DH plants. Finally, the PsnEIL1 gene was overexpressed in DT, and the transgenic plants showed a dwarf phenotype, indicating that the PsnEIL1 gene was involved in regulating the growth and development of poplar. In this study, the EIN3/EIL gene family of DH poplar was analyzed and functionally characterized, which provides a theoretical basis for the future exploration of the EIN3/EIL gene function.

Percolation Transitions in Edge-Coupled Interdependent Networks with Reinforced Inter-Layer Links.

Prior research on cascading failures within interdependent networks has predominantly emphasized the coupling of nodes. Nevertheless, in practical networks, interactions often exist not just through the nodes themselves but also via the connections (edges) linking them, a configuration referred to as edge-coupled interdependent networks. Past research has shown that introducing a certain percentage of reinforced nodes or connecting edges can prevent catastrophic network collapses. However, the effect of reinforced inter-layer links in edge-coupled interdependent networks has yet to be addressed. Here, we develop a theoretical framework for studying percolation models in edge-coupled interdependent networks by introducing a proportion of reinforced inter-layer links and deriving detailed expressions for the giant and finite components and the percolation phase transition threshold. We find that there exists a required minimum proportion of the reinforced inter-layer links to prevent abrupt network collapse, which serves as a boundary to distinguish different phase transition types of a network. We provide both analytical and numerical solutions for random and scale-free networks, demonstrating that the proposed method exhibits superior reinforcement efficiency compared to intra-layer link reinforcement strategies. Theoretical analysis, simulation results, and real network systems validate our model and indicate that introducing a specific proportion of reinforced inter-layer links can prevent abrupt system failure and enhance network robustness in edge-coupled interdependent networks.

Regulation of hormone pathways in wheat infested by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici.

BACKGROUND: Wheat powdery mildew is an obligate biotrophic pathogen infecting wheat, which can pose a serious threat to wheat production. In this study, transcriptome sequencing was carried out on wheat leaves infected by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici from 0 h to 7 d. RESULTS: KEGG and GO enrichment analysis revealed that the upstream biosynthetic pathways and downstream signal transduction pathways of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and ethylene were highly enriched at all infection periods. Trend analysis showed that the expressions of hormone-related genes were significantly expressed from 1 to 4 d, suggesting that 1 d-4 d is the main period in which hormones play a defensive role. During this period of time, the salicylic acid pathway was up-regulated, while the jasmonic acid and ethylene pathways were suppressed. Meanwhile, four key modules and 11 hub genes were identified, most of which were hormone related. CONCLUSION: This study improves the understanding of the dynamical responses of wheat to Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici infestation at the transcriptional level and provides a reference for screening core genes regulated by hormones.

Phase Separation in cGAS-STING Signaling: Cytosolic DNA Sensing and Regulatory Functions.

Phase separation is a crucial biophysical process that governs cellular signaling and function. This process allows biomolecules to separate and form membraneless compartments in response to both extra- and intra-cellular stimuli. Recently, the identification of phase separation in different immune signaling pathways, including the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway, has shed light on its tight association with pathological processes such as viral infections, cancers, and inflammatory diseases. In this review, we present the phase separation in cGAS-STING signaling, along with its related cellular regulatory functions. Furthermore, we discuss the introduction of therapeutics targeting cGAS-STING signaling, which plays a pivotal role in cancer progression.