Open-3DSIM: an open-source three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy reconstruction platform.

Open-3DSIM is an open-source reconstruction platform for three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy. We demonstrate its superior performance for artifact suppression and high-fidelity reconstruction relative to other algorithms on various specimens and over a range of signal-to-noise levels. Open-3DSIM also offers the capacity to extract dipole orientation, paving a new avenue for interpreting subcellular structures in six dimensions (xyzθλt). The platform is available as MATLAB code, a Fiji plugin and an Exe application to maximize user-friendliness.

Phase-specific transcriptional patterns of the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora sojae unravel genes essential for asexual development and pathogenic processes.

Oomycetes are filamentous microorganisms easily mistaken as fungi but vastly differ in physiology, biochemistry, and genetics. This commonly-held misconception lead to a reduced effectiveness by using conventional fungicides to control oomycetes, thus it demands the identification of novel functional genes as target for precisely design oomycetes-specific microbicide. The present study initially analyzed the available transcriptome data of the model oomycete pathogen, Phytophthora sojae, and constructed an expression matrix of 10,953 genes across the stages of asexual development and host infection. Hierarchical clustering, specificity, and diversity analyses revealed a more pronounced transcriptional plasticity during the stages of asexual development than that in host infection, which drew our attention by particularly focusing on transcripts in asexual development stage to eventually clustered them into 6 phase-specific expression modules. Three of which respectively possessing a serine/threonine phosphatase (PP2C) expressed during the mycelial and sporangium stages, a histidine kinase (HK) expressed during the zoospore and cyst stages, and a bZIP transcription factor (bZIP32) exclusive to the cyst germination stage were selected for down-stream functional validation. In this way, we demonstrated that PP2C, HK, and bZIP32 play significant roles in P. sojae asexual development and virulence. Thus, these findings provide a foundation for further gene functional annotation in oomycetes and crop disease management.

Molecular Engineering of Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework for Enhanced Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction is an efficient way to produce ammonia sustainably. Herein, we rationally designed a copper metalloporphyrin-based hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF-Cu) through molecular engineering strategies for electrochemical nitrate reduction. As a result, the state-of-the-art HOF-Cu catalyst exhibits high NH3 Faradaic efficiency of 93.8%, and the NH3 production rate achieves a superior activity of 0.65 mmol h-1 cm-2. The in situ electrochemical spectroscopic combined with density functional theory calculations reveals that the dispersed Cu promotes the adsorption of NO3- and the mechanism is followed by deoxidation of NO3- to *NO and accompanied by deep hydrogenation. The generated *H participates in the deep hydrogenation of intermediate with fast kinetics as revealed by operando electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction is suppressed. This research provides a promising approach to the conversion of nitrate to ammonia, maintaining the nitrogen balance in the atmosphere.

Sonodynamic Therapy-Driven Immunotherapy: Constructing AIE Organic Sonosensitizers Using an Advanced Receptor-Regulated Strategy.

Benefit from the deeper penetration of mechanical wave, ultrasound (US)-based sonodynamic therapy (SDT) executes gratifying efficacy in treating deep-seated tumors. Nevertheless, the complicated mechanism of SDT undeniably hinders the exploration of ingenious sonosensitizers. Herein, a receptor engineering strategy of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) sonosensitizers (TPA-Tpy) with acceptor (A)-donor (D)-A' structure is proposed, which inspects the effect of increased cationizations on US sensitivity. Under US stimulation, enhanced cationization in TPA-Tpy improves intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and accelerates charge separation, which possesses a non-negligible promotion in type I reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Moreover, abundant ROS-mediated mitochondrial oxidative stress triggers satisfactory immunogenic cell death (ICD), which further promotes the combination of SDT and ICD. Subsequently, subacid pH-activated nanoparticles (TPA-Tpy NPs) are constructed with charge-converting layer (2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride-poly (allylamine hydrochloride)-polyethylene glycol (DMMA-PAH-PEG)) and TPA-Tpy, achieving the controllable release of sonosensitizers. In vivo, TPA-Tpy-mediated SDT effectively initiates the surface-exposed of calreticulin (ecto-CRT), dendritic cells (DCs) maturation, and CD8+ T cell infiltration rate through enhanced ROS production, achieving suppression and ablation of primary and metastatic tumors. This study provides new opinions in regulating acceptors with eminent US sensitization, and brings a novel ICD sono-inducer based on SDT to realize superior antitumor effect.

Exposure-efficacy and exposure-safety analyses of ropeginterferon alfa-2b treatment in patients with polycythaemia vera.

AIMS: To investigate the exposure-response (E-R) relationship, including exposure-efficacy and exposure-safety, of ropeginterferon alfa-2b treatment in patients with polycythaemia vera (PV). METHODS: Based on the results of the phase II trial A20-202 regarding ropeginterferon alfa-2b in patients with PV, E-R analyses were performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the given dosing regimen. The E-R analyses were based on logistic and linear regression and the relationship between exposure to ropeginterferon alfa-2b and key efficacy and safety variables. The key efficacy variables included complete haematologic response (CHR) and reduction of the driver mutation JAK2V617F. The safety variable was treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). RESULTS: A clear relationship between the exposure to ropeginterferon alfa-2b and CHR was observed, with an increase in drug exposure resulting in an increased probability of achieving CHR. Similar CHR probabilities were observed in the third and fourth quantiles of the average concentration at Week 24. The results from the exposure-JAK2V617F model indicated that the JAK2V617F allele burden decreased with increasing exposure to ropeginterferon alfa-2b and baseline body surface area. Exposure-safety analysis revealed a risk of AEs associated with transaminase abnormalities, which were not associated with clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses have shown that patients with PV treated with ropeginterferon alfa-2b had an increased probability of achieving CHR and a molecular response with acceptable safety risks at the 250-350-500 µg titration dosing regimen. This study has provided the relevant data for the application of a biologics licence of ropeginterferon alfa-2b for PV treatment in China.

Manganese/Enzyme Sequential Catalytic Pathway for the Production of Optically Active γ-Functionalized Alcohols.

A brief, practical catalytic process for the production of optically active γ-functionalized alcohols from relevant alkenes has been developed by using a robust Mn(III)/air/(Me2SiH)2O catalytic system combined with lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution. This approach demonstrates exceptional tolerance toward proximal functional groups present on alkenes, enabling the achievement of high yields and exclusive enantioselectivity. Under this sequential catalytic system, the chiral alkene precursors can also be converted into γ-functionalized alcohols and related acetates as separable single enantiomers.

Nanoporous gold with microporous structure prepared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-mediated electrochemical dealloying.

Nanoporous gold (NPG) is a promising catalytic material for the oxidation of CO and methanol applications. However, NPGs are prone to extensive macroscopic cracking that often decrease mechanic properties of NPGs and depresses their catalytic action. To produce crack-free NPG with an ultra-finer porosity in room temperature, the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added in electrochemical dealloying process. SDS has the effect of reducing the surface diffusion of gold which hinder the initial coarsening of ligaments and prevents interior silver atoms from being exposed and dissolved. As a result, the pore and ligment size are finer, but higher residual silver of NPG samples. NPG with pore size down to 2 nm and the ligament 4.0 nm was successfully fabricated with 13.32 mM SDS in perchloric acid solution. The surface diffusion coefficient of Au atoms was 1.6 × 10-24m2·s-1, nearly 3 orders of magnitude smaller than that of Au atoms in the absence of SDS (2.8 × 10-21m2·s-1). Nanoindentation results demonstrated that high residual silver content made NPG samples harder and stiffer，the specific surface areas of NPG with 6.66 mM SDS was 190 m2g-1by BET. This work provided very important clues on how to control the crack free ultrafine nanoporous structure of other materials.

Strain-tunable electronic anisotropy of the AlSb double-layer honeycomb structure.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials show promising applications in nanoelectronic devices due to their excellent physical and chemical properties, large specific surface area, and good flexibility. 2D AlSb, a representative of a new class of two-dimensional materials with a double-layer honeycomb (DLHC) structure was recently obtained in experiments and was reported to be a direct band gap semiconductor. Strain engineering is an effective way of tuning the properties of 2D materials. Here, by first-principles calculations, the strain effects on the electronic structure of AlSb were investigated. An interesting inversion of band order near the bottom of the conduction band can be induced by applying uniaxial strain, which will introduce a large electronic anisotropy. In addition, under tensile strain along the armchair direction larger than 5%, band inversion occurs, indicating possible topological insulator properties of AlSb. Small carrier effective mass and strain tunable electronic anisotropy pave the way for the application of AlSb in future nanoelectronic devices.

The fate of sulfonamides in microenvironments of rape and hot pepper rhizosphere soil system.

Sulfonamides (SAs) in agricultural soils can be degraded in rhizosphere, but can also be taken up by vegetables, which thereby poses human health and ecological risks. A glasshouse experiment was conducted using multi-interlayer rhizoboxes to investigate the fate of three SAs in rape and hot pepper rhizosphere soil systems to examine the relationship between the accumulation and their physicochemical processes. SAs mainly entered pepper shoots in which the accumulation ranged from 0.40 to 30.64 mg kg-1, while SAs were found at high levels in rape roots ranged from 3.01 to 16.62 mg kg-1. The BCFpepper shoot exhibited a strong positive linear relationship with log Dow, while such relationship was not observed between other bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and log Dow. Other than lipophilicity, the dissociation of SAs may also influence the uptake and translocation process. Larger TF and positive correlation with log Dow indicate preferential translocation of pepper SAs. There was a significant (p < 0.05) dissipation gradient of SAs observed away from the vegetable roots. In addition, pepper could uptake more SAs under solo exposure, while rape accumulated more SAs under combined exposure. When SAs applied in mixture, competition between SAs might occur to influence the translocation and dissipation patterns of SAs.

The phloem and xylem structure of plants and the neutral and ionic partitioning of sulfonamides (SAs) influence the uptake and translocation of SAs.A significant (p < 0.05) dissipation gradient of SAs was observed away from the vegetable roots.Combined exposure could promote the correlation between log BCF and log D_ow.

Sex Differences in Antennal Transcriptome of Hyphantria cunea and Analysis of Odorant Receptor Expression Profiles.

Insects rely on olfaction for mating, finding oviposition sites, and locating hosts. Hyphantria cunea is a serious pest that severely damages forests. Differential expression analysis of olfactory-related genes between males and females is the basis for elucidating the functions of olfactory-related proteins in H. cunea. In this study, Illumina HiSeqTM 4000 high-throughput sequencing technology was used to perform transcriptome sequencing of the antennal tissues of adult male and female H. cunea. Functional annotation was conducted using the NR, Swiss-Prot, KOG, KEGG, and GO databases, and the results showed that the antennal transcriptome of adult H. cunea contained 50,158 unigenes. Differential expression analysis identified 3923 genes that were significantly differentially expressed between male and female antennae. A total of 221 olfactory-related genes were annotated, and 96 sex-biased genes were identified, including 13 odorant receptors (ORs), 48 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 7 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 10 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 10 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 2 gustatory receptors (GRs), and 6 odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs), indicating that there were differences in olfaction between male and female H. cunea. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to verify the expression levels of 21 putative general odorant receptor genes in male and female antennae. HcunOR4 and HcunOR5 showed female-biased expression; HcunOR48, HcunOR49 and HcunOR50 showed male-biased expression. The results were consistent with the transcriptome differential analysis. The screening of male-biased odorant receptor genes might provide a theoretical basis for the functional characterization of odorant receptors for recognizing sex pheromones in H. cunea.

THE ACCURACY OF INTRAORAL SCAN IN OBTAINING DIGITAL IMPRESSIONS OF EDENTULOUS ARCHES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

OBJECTIVES: Accuracy is a crucial factor when assessing the quality of digital impressions. This systematic review aims to assess the accuracy of intraoral scan (IOS) in obtaining digital impressions of edentulous jaws. METHODS: This systematic review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022382983). A thorough retrieval of 7 electronic databases was undertaken, encompassing MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Virtual Health Library, and Open gray, through September 11, 2023. A snowball search was performed by tracing the reference lists of the included studies. The Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) question of this systematic review was: "What is the accuracy of intraoral scan in obtaining digital impressions of edentulous arches?" The Modified Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies (MINORS) was employed to assess the risk of bias. RESULTS: Among the studies retrieved from databases and manual search, a total of 25 studies were selected for inclusion in this systematic review, including 9 in vivo and 16 in vitro studies. Twenty-one of the included studies utilized the 3D deviation analysis method, while 4 studies employed the linear or angular deviation analysis method. The accuracy results of in vitro studies indicated a trueness range of 20-600 µm and a precision range of 2-700 µm. Results of in vivo studies indicated a trueness range of 40-1380 µm, while the precision results were not reported. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, direct digital impressions by IOS cannot replace the conventional impressions of completely edentulous arches in vivo. Edentulous digital impressions by IOS demonstrated poor accuracy in peripheral areas with mobile tissues, such as the soft palate, vestibular sulcus, and sublingual area.

Modulation of Kv7 Channel Currents by Echinocystic Acid.

Modulation of KCNQ-encoded voltage-gated potassium Kv7/M channel function represents an attractive strategy to treat neuronal excitability disorders such as epilepsy, pain, and depression. The Kv7 channel group includes five subfamily members (Kv7.1-Kv7.5). Pentacyclic triterpenes display extensive pharmacological activities including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antidepression effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of pentacyclic triterpenes on Kv7 channels. Our results show that echinocystic acid, ursonic acid, oleanonic acid, demethylzeylasteral, corosolic acid, betulinaldehyde, acetylursolic acid, and α-boswellic acid gradually exert decreasing degrees of Kv7.2/Kv7.3 channel current inhibition. Echinocystic acid was the most potent inhibitor, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.5 µM. It significantly shifted the voltage-dependent activation curve in a positive direction and slowed the time constant of activation for Kv7.2/Kv7.3 channel currents. Furthermore, echinocystic acid nonselectively inhibited Kv7.1-Kv7.5 channels. Taken together, our findings indicate that echinocystic acid is a novel and potent inhibitor that could be used as a tool to further understand the pharmacological functions of neuronal Kv7 channels. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Pentacyclic triterpenes reportedly have multiple potential therapeutic uses such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antidepression effects. In the present study, we show that echinocystic acid, ursonic acid, oleanonic acid, and demethylzeylasteral inhibit Kv7.2/Kv7.3 channels to varying degrees. Of these, echinocystic acid was the most potent Kv7.2/Kv7.3 current inhibitor and inhibited Kv7.1-Kv7.5 currents in a nonselective manner.

Cu-Mediated Thianthrenation and Phenoxathiination of Arylborons.

Great success in synthetic chemistry is motivated by the development of novel and reactive linchpins for carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation reactions, which has dramatically altered chemists' approach to building molecules. Herein, we report the ready synthesis of aryl sulfonium salts, a versatile electrophilic linchpin, via a novel Cu-mediated thianthrenation and phenoxathiination of commercially available arylborons with thianthrene and phenoxathiine, providing a series of aryl sulfonium salts in high efficiency. More importantly, by leveraging the sequential Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation and Cu-mediated thianthrenation of arylborons, the formal thianthrenation of arenes is also achieved. The Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation with undirected arenes normally occurred at the less steric hindrance position, thus providing a complementary method for thianthrenation of arenes in comparison with electrophilic thianthrenation. This process is capable of late-stage functionalization of a series of pharmaceuticals, which might find wide synthetic applications in both industry and academic sectors.

Regulation of saturation magnetization of magnetite by doping with group III elements.

Magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles show promising applications in nanomedicine. However, the saturation magnetization (MS) of Fe3O4 nanoparticles synthesized in laboratory is usually not high enough, which greatly limits their application in drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia. Here, by accurate hybrid density functional computation, the doping behavior of group III elements (including Al, Ga, and In) and the effects on magnetic and electronic properties are well studied. The results show that the doping behavior depends on the concentration of dopants. Interestingly, appropriate Ga and In doping concentrations can significantly increase the MS of Fe3O4. In addition, the doping of group III elements (Al, Ga and In) into Fe3O4 would not induce any defect states in the band gap but slightly increases the band gap. Our results provide a simple and feasible scheme for increasing the MS of magnetite, which is significant for the applications of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia.

A phase II trial to assess the efficacy and safety of ropeginterferon α-2b in Chinese patients with polycythemia vera.

Ropeginterferon α-2b is a mono-PEGylated proline-interferon for the treatment of polycythemia vera. This drug is used biweekly with a starting dose of 100 µg (50 µg if patients receiving hydroxyurea) and 50 µg increments up to a maximum dose of 500 µg. Increasing evidence indicates that patients can tolerate higher starting doses of ropeginterferon α-2b. This phase II trial utilizes 250 µg as the starting dose, 350 µg at week 2 and 500 µg at week 4 as the target dose. Doses can be adjusted according to tolerability. This study assesses the safety, efficacy and molecular response of ropeginterferon α-2b in Chinese patients with PV utilizing the 250-350-500 µg dosing schema. This study will be used to support the application of a biologics license for polycythemia vera treatment in China.

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a slow-growing blood neoplasm (cells that grow and divide more than they should or do not die when they should). PV often has a mutation in the gene called JAK2, which causes changes in the DNA of genes that cause cells to become cancerous. PV is associated with an increased number of blood cells, debilitating symptoms, risks of thrombosis (blood clot) and bleeding and can progress to other diseases, including myelofibrosis and acute myeloid leukemia. Ropeginterferon α-2b is a new product with favorable properties, allowing a convenient dosing schedule of every 2­4 weeks. This drug has demonstrated good tolerability, safety and efficacy for PV treatment and has been approved for the treatment of PV in Europe and the USA. This article discusses the design of an ongoing study that looks at the safety and efficacy of ropeginterferon α-2b for the treatment of PV. The study follows a specific dosing schedule, with the aim of controlling the neoplasm faster, and plans to include 49 patients from 12­15 major hospitals in China. Clinical Trial Registration: This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT05485948) and in China (China National Medical Products Administration Clinical Trial Registration Number: CTR20211664).

Identification of fabclavine derivatives, Fcl-7 and Fcl-8, from Xenorhabdus budapestensis as major antifungal natural products against Rhizoctonia solani.

AIMS: Black scurf disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is a severe soil-borne and tuber-borne disease, which occurs and spreads in potato growing areas worldwide and poses a serious threat to potato production. New biofungicide is highly desirable for addressing the issue, and natural products (NPs) from Xenorhabdus spp. provide prolific resources for biofungicide development. In this study, we aim to identify antifungal NPs from Xenorhabdus spp. for the management of this disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Out of the 22 Xenorhabdus strains investigated, Xenorhabdus budapestensis 8 (XBD8) was determined to be the most promising candidate with the measured IC50 value of its cell-free supernatant against R. solani as low as 0.19 ml l-1. The major antifungal compound in XBD8 started to be synthesized in the middle logarithmic phase and reached a stable level at stationary phase. Core gene deletion coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis determined the major antifungal NPs as fabclavine derivatives, Fcl-7 and 8, which showed broad-spectrum bioactivity against important pathogenic fungi. Impressively, the identified fabclavine derivatives effectively controlled black scurf disease in both greenhouse and field experiments, significantly improving tuber quality and increasing with marketable tuber yield from 29 300 to 35 494 kg ha-1, comparable with chemical fungicide fludioxonil. CONCLUSIONS: The fabclavine derivatives Fcl-7 and 8 were determined as the major antifungal NPs in XBD8, which demonstrated a bright prospect for the management of black scurf disease.

Effect of non-invasive brain stimulation on conscious disorder in patients after brain injury: a network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the rehabilitation effect of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) on disorder of consciousness (DOC) after brain injury and compare the effects of different NIBSs. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of NIBS on DOC after brain injury were retrieved from the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, and CBM databases from inception to October 2022. The risk of bias and quality of the trials were assessed following the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews and the physiotherapy evidence database Jadad Scale. Statistical analysis was conducted with RevMan 5.4 and R Studio. This study was registered on PROSPERO (No. CRD42022371334). RESULTS: A total of 28 articles were included involving 1118 patients. Meta-analysis showed that NIBS combined with routine rehabilitation had the highest effect than the routine rehabilitation and the sham NIBS combined with routine rehabilitation. The cumulative probability ranking results showed that the rTMS was best. The order of network meta-analysis with GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) as the outcome index is rTMS combined with routine rehabilitation > tDCS combined with routine rehabilitation > routine rehabilitation > NIBS sham stimulation combined with routine rehabilitation. The order of network meta-analysis with CRS-R (Coma Recovery Scale-Revised) as the outcome index is rTMS combined with routine rehabilitation > tDCS combined with routine rehabilitation > NIBS sham stimulation combined with routine rehabilitation > routine rehabilitation. For patients with different conditions of DOC, the subgroup analysis results showed that rTMS improved the effect of patients with severe DOC better than those with unclear conditions of DOC, but the overall results of the two groups were not significantly different. On the contrary, the effect of tDCS on patients with DOC whose condition was not clear was better than that on patients with severe DOC, and the effect on patients with severe DOC was not significant (P > 0.05). In terms of safety, only 9 articles mentioned ADRs in the included literature, including 8 articles without ADRs, and 1 article with ADRs. CONCLUSION: Based on the research results of various indicators, NIBS can improve DOC after brain injury, and the rTMS is the best. Limited by the number and the quality of literature, the above conclusions need more high-quality research to verify.

Inhibition of Kv7/M Channel Currents by Fangchinoline.

INTRODUCTION: Voltage-gated Kv7/M potassium channels play an essential role in the control of membrane potential and neuronal excitability. Fangchinoline, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, displays extensive biological activities including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertension effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of fangchinoline on Kv7/M channels. METHODS: A perforated whole-cell patch technique was used to record Kv7 currents from HEK293 cells and M-type currents from mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. RESULTS: Fangchinoline inhibited Kv7.2/Kv7.3 currents in a concentration-dependent manner, with an IC50 of 9.5 ± 1.2 µM. Fangchinoline significantly inhibited Kv7.1, Kv7.2, Kv7.3, Kv7.4, and Kv7.3/Kv7.5 channels without selective effects. Furthermore, fangchinoline significantly slowed the activation of Kv7.1-Kv7.5 channels and inhibited native M-channel currents of DRG neurons. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings indicate that fangchinoline concentration-dependently inhibited Kv7/M channel currents.

A Drop-in, Focus-Extending Phase Mask Simplifies Microscopic and Microfluidic Imaging Systems for Cost-Effective Point-of-Care Diagnostics.

Microscopic imaging and imaging flow cytometry have wide potential in point-of-care assays; however, their narrow depth of focus necessitates precise mechanical or fluidic focus control of a sample in order to acquire high-quality images that can be used for downstream analysis, increasing the cost and complexity of the imaging system. This complexity represents a barrier to miniaturization and translation of point-of-care assays based on microscopic imaging or imaging flow cytometry. To address this challenge, we present a simple drop-in phase mask with a physics-informed, circularly symmetric asphere phase profile that extends the depth of focus by >5-fold while largely preserving the image quality compared to other depth extending methods. We show that such a focus-extended system overcomes manufacturing tolerances in low-cost sample chambers, enlarges the useable field-of-view of low-cost objectives, and permits increased throughput and precision in flow imaging systems without the need for complex flow-focusing. As the image quality is preserved without the need for postacquisition image restoration, our solution is also highly appropriate for on-line applications such as cell sorting.

G protein α subunit suppresses sporangium formation through a serine/threonine protein kinase in Phytophthora sojae.

Eukaryotic heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins consist of α, ß, and γ subunits, which act as molecular switches to regulate a number of fundamental cellular processes. In the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora sojae, the sole G protein α subunit (Gα; encoded by PsGPA1) has been found to be involved in zoospore mobility and virulence, but how it functions remains unclear. In this study, we show that the Gα subunit PsGPA1 directly interacts with PsYPK1, a serine/threonine protein kinase that consists of an N-terminal region with unknown function and a C-terminal region with a conserved catalytic kinase domain. We generated knockout and knockout-complemented strains of PsYPK1 and found that deletion of PsYPK1 resulted in a pronounced reduction in the production of sporangia and oospores, in mycelial growth on nutrient poor medium, and in virulence. PsYPK1 exhibits a cytoplasmic-nuclear localization pattern that is essential for sporangium formation and virulence of P. sojae. Interestingly, PsGPA1 overexpression was found to prevent nuclear localization of PsYPK1 by exclusively binding to the N-terminal region of PsYPK1, therefore accounting for its negative role in sporangium formation. Our data demonstrate that PsGPA1 negatively regulates sporangium formation by repressing the nuclear localization of its downstream kinase PsYPK1.