A Natural Allele of a Transcription Factor in Rice Confers Broad-Spectrum Blast Resistance.

Rice feeds half the world's population, and rice blast is often a destructive disease that results in significant crop loss. Non-race-specific resistance has been more effective in controlling crop diseases than race-specific resistance because of its broad spectrum and durability. Through a genome-wide association study, we report the identification of a natural allele of a C2H2-type transcription factor in rice that confers non-race-specific resistance to blast. A survey of 3,000 sequenced rice genomes reveals that this allele exists in 10% of rice, suggesting that this favorable trait has been selected through breeding. This allele causes a single nucleotide change in the promoter of the bsr-d1 gene, which results in reduced expression of the gene through the binding of the repressive MYB transcription factor and, consequently, an inhibition of H2O2 degradation and enhanced disease resistance. Our discovery highlights this novel allele as a strategy for breeding durable resistance in rice.

Generation of genuine entanglement up to 51 superconducting qubits.

Scalable generation of genuine multipartite entanglement with an increasing number of qubits is important for both fundamental interest and practical use in quantum-information technologies1,2. On the one hand, multipartite entanglement shows a strong contradiction between the prediction of quantum mechanics and local realization and can be used for the study of quantum-to-classical transition3,4. On the other hand, realizing large-scale entanglement is a benchmark for the quality and controllability of the quantum system and is essential for realizing universal quantum computing5-8. However, scalable generation of genuine multipartite entanglement on a state-of-the-art quantum device can be challenging, requiring accurate quantum gates and efficient verification protocols. Here we show a scalable approach for preparing and verifying intermediate-scale genuine entanglement on a 66-qubit superconducting quantum processor. We used high-fidelity parallel quantum gates and optimized the fidelitites of parallel single- and two-qubit gates to be 99.91% and 99.05%, respectively. With efficient randomized fidelity estimation9, we realized 51-qubit one-dimensional and 30-qubit two-dimensional cluster states and achieved fidelities of 0.637 ± 0.030 and 0.671 ± 0.006, respectively. On the basis of high-fidelity cluster states, we further show a proof-of-principle realization of measurement-based variational quantum eigensolver10 for perturbed planar codes. Our work provides a feasible approach for preparing and verifying entanglement with a few hundred qubits, enabling medium-scale quantum computing with superconducting quantum systems.

MORN motif-containing protein OsMORN1 and OsMORN2 are crucial for rice pollen viability and cold tolerance.

The pollen viability directly affects the pollination process and the ultimate grain yield of rice. Here, we identified that the MORN motif-containing proteins, OsMORN1 and OsMORN2, had a crucial role in maintaining pollen fertility. Compared with the wild type (WT), the pollen viability of the osmorn1 and osmorn2 mutants was reduced, and pollen germination was abnormal, resulting in significantly lower spikelet fertility, seed-setting rate, and grain yield per plant. Further investigation revealed that OsMORN1 was localized to the Golgi apparatus and lipid droplets. Lipids associated with pollen viability underwent alterations in osmorn mutants, such as the diacylglyceride (18:3_18:3) was 5.1-fold higher and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (18:2_18:2) was 5.2-fold lower in osmorn1, while the triacylglycerol (TG) (16:0_18:2_18:3) was 8.3-fold higher and TG (16:0_18:1_18:3) was 8.5-fold lower in osmorn2 than those in WT. Furthermore, the OsMORN1/2 was found to be associated with rice cold tolerance, as osmorn1 and osmorn2 mutants were more sensitive to chilling stress than WT. The mutants displayed increased hydrogen peroxide accumulation, reduced antioxidant enzyme activities, elevated malondialdehyde content, and a significantly decreased seedling survival rate. Lipidomics analysis revealed distinct alterations in lipids under low temperature, highlighting significant changes in TG (18:2_18:3_18:3) and TG (18:4_18:2_18:2) in osmorn1, TG (16:0_18:2_18:2) and PI (17:2_18:3) in osmorn2 compared to the WT. Therefore, it suggested that OsMORN1 and OsMORN2 regulate both pollen viability and cold tolerance through maintaining lipid homeostasis.

Multihierarchical Regulation To Achieve Quantum Dot Nanospheres with a Photoluminescence Quantum Yield Close to 100.

Quantum dots (QDs) exhibit superior brightness and photochemical stability, making them the preferred option for highly sensitive single-molecule detection compared with fluorescent dyes or proteins. Nevertheless, their high surface energy leads to nonspecific adsorption and poor colloidal stability. In the past decades, we have found that QD-based fluorescent nanoparticles (FNs) can not only address these limitations but also enhance detection sensitivity. However, the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of FNs is significantly lower compared with that of original QDs. It is urgent to develop a strategy to solve the issue, aiming to further enhance detection sensitivity. In this study, we found that the decrease of PLQY of FNs prepared by free radical polymerization was attributed to two factors: (1) generation of defects that can cause nonradiative transitions resulting from QD-ligands desorption and QD-shell oxidation induced by free radicals; (2) self-absorption resulting from aggregation caused by incompatibility of QDs with polymers. Based on these, we proposed a multihierarchical regulation strategy that includes: (1) regulating QD-ligands; (2) precisely controlling free radical concentration; and (3) constructing cross-linked structures of polymer to improve compatibility and to reduce the formation of surface defects. It is crucial to emphasize that the simultaneous coordination of multiple factors is essential. Consequently, a world-record PLQY of 97.6% for FNs was achieved, breaking through the current bottleneck at 65%. The flexible application of this regulatory concept paves the way for the large-scale production of high-brightness QD-polymer complexes, enhancing their potential applications in sensitive biomedical detection.

The LCG1-OsBP5/OsEBP89-Wx module regulates the grain chalkiness and taste quality in rice.

It is well known that the overall quality of japonica/geng rice is superior to that of indica/xian rice varieties. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the quality disparities between these two subspecies of rice are still largely unknown. In this study, we have pinpointed a gene homologous to SLR1, termed LCG1, exhibiting significant expression during early caryopsis development and playing a specific role in regulating rice chalkiness and taste by affecting the accumulation of grain storage components, starch granule structure and chain length distribution of amylopectin. LCG1 physically interacts with OsBP5 and indirectly influences the expression of the amylose synthesis gene Waxy (Wx) by hindering the transcriptional activity of the OsBP5/OsEBP89 complex. Notably, sequence variations in the promoter region of LCG1 result in enhanced transcription in japonica rice accessions. This leads to elevated LCG1 expression in CSSL-LCG1Nip, thereby enhancing rice quality. Our research elucidates the molecular mechanism underlying the impact of the LCG1-OsBP5/OsEBP89-Wx regulatory pathway on rice chalkiness and taste quality, offering new genetic resources for improving the indica rice quality.

Optical transmission of microwave control signal towards large-scale superconducting quantum computing.

With the rapid development of superconducting quantum computing and the implementation of surface code, large-scale quantum computing is emerging as an urgent demand. In a superconducting computing system, the qubit is maintained in a cryogenic environment to avoid thermal excitation. Thus, the transmission of control signals, which are generated at room temperature, is needed. Typically, the transmission of these signals to the qubit relies on a coaxial cable wiring approach. However, in a large-scale computing system with hundreds or even thousands of qubits, the coaxial cables will pose great space and heat load to the dilution refrigerator. Here, to tackle this problem, we propose and demonstrate a direct-modulation-based optical transmission line. In our experiment, the average single-qubit XEB error and control error are measured as 0.139% and 0.014% separately, demonstrating the feasibility of the optical wiring approach and paving the way for large-scale superconducting quantum computing.

Exogenous Indole-3-Acetic Acid Suppresses Rice Infection of Magnaporthe oryzae by Affecting Plant Resistance and Fungal Growth.

Auxin is an important phytohormone that regulates diverse biologic processes, including plant growth and immunity. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), known as one of the main forms of auxin, is able to activate plant immunity. However, it is unknown whether IAA enhances plant resistance and/or suppresses the growth of the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Here, we found that IAA could induce expression levels of pathogenesis-related genes to enhance disease resistance and could control the development of blast disease through inhibiting M. oryzae infection. Exogenous IAA suppressed mycelial growth and delayed spore germination by inhibiting fungal endogenous IAA biosynthesis and impairing redox homeostasis, respectively. When applied to a field test, two IAA analogues, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid, can effectively control rice blast disease. Our study advances the understanding of IAA in controlling rice blast disease through suppressing pathogen growth and enhancing plant resistance.

Efficient removal of Cr (VI) from coal gangue by indigenous bacteria-YZ1 bacteria: Adsorption mechanism and reduction characteristics of extracellular polymer.

The existence of heavy metals (especially Cr (VI)) in coal gangue has brought great safety risks to the environment. The indigenous bacteria (YZ1 bacteria) were separated and applied for removing Cr (VI) from the coal gangue, in which its tolerance to Cr (VI) was explored. The removal mechanism of Cr (VI) was investigated with pyrite in coal gangue, metabolite organic acids and extracellular polymer of YZ1 bacteria. The concentration of Cr (VI) could be stabilized around 0.012 mg/L by the treatment with YZ1 bacteria. The Cr (VI) tolerance of YZ1 bacteria reached 60 mg/L, and the removal efficiency of Cr (VI) was more than 95% by using YZ1 bacteria combined with pyrite. The organic acids had a certain reducing ability to Cr (VI) (removal efficiency of less than 10%). The extracellular polymers (EPS) were protective for the YZ1 bacteria resisting to Cr (VI). The polysaccharides and Humic-like substances in the soluble extracellular polymers (S-EPS) had strong adsorption and reduction effect on Cr (VI), in which the tryptophan and tyrosine proteins in the bound extracellular polymers (LB-EPS and TB-EPS) could effectively promote the reduction of Cr (VI). YZ1 bacteria could obviously reduce the damage of Cr (VI) from coal gangue to the environment.

Highly Selective Electrochemical Nitrate to Ammonia Conversion by Dispersed Ru in a Multielement Alloy Catalyst.

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia (NH3) converts an environmental pollutant to a critical nutrient. However, current electrochemical nitrate reduction operations based on monometallic and bimetallic catalysts are limited in NH3 selectivity and catalyst stability, especially in acidic environments. Meanwhile, catalysts with dispersed active sites generally exhibit a higher atomic utilization and distinct activity. Herein, we report a multielement alloy nanoparticle catalyst with dispersed Ru (Ru-MEA) with other synergistic components (Cu, Pd, Pt). Density functional theory elucidated the synergy effect of Ru-MEA than Ru, where a better reactivity (NH3 partial current density of -50.8 mA cm-2) and high NH3 faradaic efficiency (93.5%) is achieved in industrially relevant acidic wastewater. In addition, the Ru-MEA catalyst showed good stability (e.g., 19.0% decay in FENH3 in three hours). This work provides a potential systematic and efficient catalyst discovery process that integrates a data-guided catalyst design and novel catalyst synthesis for a range of applications.

Two-faced OsNAS3 influences disease resistance via nicotianamine and ethylene.

The loss and gain of OsNAS3 function both positively influence plant disease resistance. Overexpression of OsNAS3 boosts blast resistance by promoting nicotianamine accumulation, thereby enhancing blast resistance. Conversely, knockout of OsNAS3 increases ethylene biosynthesis, also contributing to improved blast resistance.

D53 represses rice blast resistance by directly targeting phenylalanine ammonia lyases.

In rice, DWARF 53 directly binds to the promoters of seven phenylalanine ammonia lyase genes, OsPAL1˜OsPAL7, and represses their expression, leading to decreased lignin accumulation and compromised resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae.

Redox Imbalance Triggered Intratumoral Cascade Reaction for Tumor "turn on" Imaging and Synergistic Therapy.

The redox homeostasis in tumors enhances their antioxidant defense ability, limiting reactive oxygen species mediated tumor therapy efficacy. The development of strategies for specific and continuous disruption of the redox homeostasis in tumor cells facilitates the improvement of the cancer therapeutic effect by promoting the apoptosis of tumor cells. Herein, a responsively biodegradable targeting multifunctional integrated nanosphere (HDMn-QDs/PEG-FA) is designed to enhance the anti-tumor efficacy by triggering intratumoral cascade reactions to effectively disrupt intracellular redox homeostasis. Once HDMn-QDs/PEG-FA enters tumor cells, manganese dioxide (MnO2 ) shell on the surface of nanosphere consumes glutathione (GSH) to produce Mn2+ , enabling enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT) via a Fenton-like reaction and T1 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Meanwhile, the degradation of MnO2 can also cause the fluorescence recovery of quantum dots conjugated on the surface of the shell, realizing "turn-on" fluorescence imaging. In addition, the doxorubicin is released because of the cleavage of the embedded SS bond in the hybrid core framework by GSH. A superior synergistic therapeutic efficiency combined CDT and chemotherapy is shown by HDMn-QDs/PEG-FA in vivo. The tumor-inhibition rate reaches to 94.8% and does not cause normal tissue damage due to the good targeting and tumor microenvironment-specific response.

Improving sea surface floating matter identification from Sentinel-2 MSI imagery using optical radiative simulation of neighborhood difference.

The reflectance difference (ΔR) between a floating matter pixel and a nearby water reference pixel is a method of atmospheric radiation unmixing. This technique unveils target signals by referencing the background within the horizontal neighborhood. ΔR is effective for removing the mixed-pixel effect and partial atmospheric path radiance. However, other atmospheric interference sources in the difference pixel, including atmospheric extinction and sunglint, need to be clarified. To address these challenges, we combined in situ floating matter endmember spectra for simulation and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) sensors for validation. We focused on radiative transfer simulation of horizontal neighborhood and vertical atmospheric column, investigating the bilateral conversion of ΔR between bottom-of-atmosphere (BOA) and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) signals, and clarifying how the atmosphere affects the difference pixel (ΔR) and floating matter identification. Results showed that direct use of TOA ΔR works in discriminating algae from non-algae floating matters under weak sunglint, and is a suitable candidate for no bother with atmospheric correction, least uncertain, and wider coverage. And then, sunglint interference is also inevitable, whether serious or not.

Experimental Simulation of Larger Quantum Circuits with Fewer Superconducting Qubits.

Although near-term quantum computing devices are still limited by the quantity and quality of qubits in the so-called NISQ era, quantum computational advantage has been experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, hybrid architectures of quantum and classical computing have become the main paradigm for exhibiting NISQ applications, where low-depth quantum circuits are repeatedly applied. In order to further scale up the problem size solvable by the NISQ devices, it is also possible to reduce the number of physical qubits by "cutting" the quantum circuit into different pieces. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated a circuit-cutting method for simulating quantum circuits involving many logical qubits, using only a few physical superconducting qubits. By exploiting the symmetry of linear-cluster states, we can estimate the effectiveness of circuit-cutting for simulating up to 33-qubit linear-cluster states, using at most 4 physical qubits for each subcircuit. Specifically, for the 12-qubit linear-cluster state, we found that the experimental fidelity bound can reach as much as 0.734, which is about 19% higher than a direct implementation on the same 12-qubit superconducting processor. Our results indicate that circuit-cutting represents a feasible approach of simulating quantum circuits using much fewer qubits, while achieving a much higher circuit fidelity.

Logical Magic State Preparation with Fidelity beyond the Distillation Threshold on a Superconducting Quantum Processor.

Fault-tolerant quantum computing based on surface code has emerged as an attractive candidate for practical large-scale quantum computers to achieve robust noise resistance. To achieve universality, magic states preparation is a commonly approach for introducing non-Clifford gates. Here, we present a hardware-efficient and scalable protocol for arbitrary logical state preparation for the rotated surface code, and further experimentally implement it on the Zuchongzhi 2.1 superconducting quantum processor. An average of 0.8983±0.0002 logical fidelity at different logical states with distance three is achieved, taking into account both state preparation and measurement errors. In particular, the logical magic states |A^{π/4}⟩_{L}, |H⟩_{L}, and |T⟩_{L} are prepared nondestructively with logical fidelities of 0.8771±0.0009, 0.9090±0.0009, and 0.8890±0.0010, respectively, which are higher than the state distillation protocol threshold, 0.859 (for H-type magic state) and 0.827 (for T-type magic state). Our work provides a viable and efficient avenue for generating high-fidelity raw logical magic states, which is essential for realizing non-Clifford logical gates in the surface code.

Exogenously applied sodium nitroprusside alleviates nickel toxicity in maize by regulating antioxidant activities and defense-related gene expression.

Nickel (Ni) stress adversely affects plant growth and biomass accumulation, posturing severe menace to crop production and food security. The current study aimed to determine the putative role of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in mitigating Ni-induced phytotoxicity and identify the underlying defense mechanisms in maize, which are poorly understood. Our findings showed that SNP significantly augmented plant growth, biomass, and photosynthesis-related attributes (Fv/Fm, Fm, qP ETR, and ΦPSII) through diminishing Ni uptake and translocation in root and shoot tissues of maize under Ni stress conditions. In parallel, exogenous SNP substantially relieved maize seedlings from Ni-induced stress by enhancing enzymatic (SOD, CAT, and GPX) and non-enzymatic (phenol and flavonoids) antioxidant defenses and reducing oxidative stress indicators (MDA and H2 O2 ). The results revealed that SNP treatment increased the content of organic osmolyte glycine betaine and the activity of GST, concomitantly with ATP and ionic exchange capacity (including Ca2+ -ATPase and Mg2+ -ATPase), advocating its sufficiency to promote plant growth and avert Ni-induced stress in maize plants. The only exception was the production of organic acids (citric, oxalic, malic, and formic acids), which was reduced as SNP treatment relieved maize seedlings from Ni-induced oxidative damage. The application of SNP also displayed higher expression of defense- and detoxifying-related genes than in control treatments. Together, our data highlighted the mechanism involved in the amelioration of Ni toxicity by SNP; thus, suggesting a potential role of SNP in mitigating the adverse effects of Ni-contaminated soils to boost growth and yield of crop plants, that is, maize.

Uptake, accumulation, toxicity, and interaction of metallic-based nanoparticles with plants: current challenges and future perspectives.

The rapid development of industrialization is causing several fundamental problems in plants due to the interaction between plants and soil contaminated with metallic nanoparticles (NPs). Numerous investigations have been conducted to address the severe toxic effects caused by nanoparticles in the past few decades. Based on the composition, size, concentration, physical and chemical characteristics of metallic NPs, and plant types, it enhances or lessens the plant growth at various developmental stages. Metallic NPs are uptaken by plant roots and translocated toward shoots via vascular system based on composition, size, shape as well as plant anatomy and cause austere phytotoxicity. Herein, we tried to summarize the toxicity induced by the uptake and accumulation of NPs in plants and also we explored the detoxification mechanism of metallic NPs adopted by plants via using different phytohormones, signaling molecules, and phytochelatins. This study was intended to be an unambiguous assessment including current knowledge on NPs uptake, accumulation, and translocation in higher plants. Furthermore, it will also provide sufficient knowledge to the scientific community to understand the metallic NPs-induced inhibitory effects and mechanisms involved within plants.

[Interpretation of the key updates in the 2022 European guideline on the management of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome]. / 2022年欧洲新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征管理指南更新要点解读.

With the deepening of clinical research, the management of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) needs to be optimized and improved. This article aims to introduce the 2022 European guideline on the management of neonatal RDS, focusing on its key updates. The guide has optimized the management of risk prediction for preterm birth, maternal referral, application of prenatal corticosteroids, application of lung protective ventilation strategies, and general care for infants with RDS. The guideline is mainly applicable to the management of RDS in neonates with gestational age greater than 24 weeks.

Immunoprofiling of Severity and Stage of Bacterial Infectious Diseases by Ultrabright Fluorescent Nanosphere-Based Dyad Test Strips.

Bacterial infectious diseases are common clinical diseases that seriously threaten human health, especially in countries and regions with poor environmental hygiene. Due to the lack of characteristic clinical symptoms and signs, it is a challenge to distinguish a bacterial infection from other infections, leading to misdiagnosis and antibiotic overuse. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a specific method for detection of bacterial infections. Herein, utilizing ultrabright fluorescent nanospheres (FNs) as reporters, immunochromatographic dyad test strips are developed for the early detection of bacterial infections and distinction of different stages of bacterial infectious diseases in clinical samples. C-reactive protein (CRP) and heparin-binding protein (HBP) are quantified and assayed because their levels in plasma are varied dynamically and asynchronously during the progression of the disease. The detection limits of CRP and HBP can reach as low as 0.51 and 0.65 ng/mL, respectively, due to the superior fluorescence intensity of each FN, which is 570 times stronger than that of a single quantum dot. The assay procedure can be achieved in 22 min, fully meeting the needs of rapid and ultrasensitive detection in the field. This constructed strip has been successfully used to profile the stage and severity of bacterial infections by monitoring the levels of CRP and HBP in human plasma samples, showing great potential as a point-of-care biosensor for clinical diagnosis. In addition to bacterial infections, the developed ultrabright FN-based point-of-care testing can be readily expanded for rapid, quantitative, and ultrasensitive detection of other trace substances in complex systems.

Celiac vagus nerve mediates expression of the acetylcholine receptor α7nAChR on monocytes in the spleen.

The spleen is required for the vagal cholinergic anti-inflammatory activity to maintain systemic immune homeostasis, but the underlying mechanism of this function is not fully understood yet. We hypothesized that vagus nerve mediates alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) expression in monocytes, an essential regulator of cholinergic anti-inflammatory activity, and the spleen is essential site for this process. To verify this hypothesis, mice were subjected to splenectomy or celiac vagotomy. The level of α7nAChR expression in circulating monocytes was analyzed by real-time PCR. Impact of α7nAChR agonist PNU282987 on LPS-evoked release of TNF-α and IL-1ß from circulating monocytes was assessed by ELISA. The effect of norepinephrine (NE), acetylcholine (ACh) and neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) on α7nAChR expression was detected by real-time PCR. We found that splenectomy or celiac vagotomy abrogated α7nAChR expression in circulating monocytes. LPS-induced release of TNF-α and IL-1ß from these monocytes was not alleviated significantly by PNU282987 as compared with that of sham mice. NE and ACh addition fails to stimulate α7nAChR expression, but, NRG-1 treatment can significantly induce α7nAChR expression in these monocytes compared with untreated cells in vitro. Overall, our results reveal that celiac vagus nerve mediates α7nAChR expression in monocytes, and the spleen is indispensable site for this process.