Near-gapless and haplotype-resolved apple genomes provide insights into the genetic basis of rootstock-induced dwarfing.

Dwarfing rootstocks have transformed the production of cultivated apples; however, the genetic basis of rootstock-induced dwarfing remains largely unclear. We have assembled chromosome-level, near-gapless and haplotype-resolved genomes for the popular dwarfing rootstock 'M9', the semi-vigorous rootstock 'MM106' and 'Fuji', one of the most commonly grown apple cultivars. The apple orthologue of auxin response factor 3 (MdARF3) is in the Dw1 region of 'M9', the major locus for rootstock-induced dwarfing. Comparing 'M9' and 'MM106' genomes revealed a 9,723-bp allele-specific long terminal repeat retrotransposon/gypsy insertion, DwTE, located upstream of MdARF3. DwTE is cosegregated with the dwarfing trait in two segregating populations, suggesting its prospective utility in future dwarfing rootstock breeding. In addition, our pipeline discovered mobile mRNAs that may contribute to the development of dwarfed scion architecture. Our research provides valuable genomic resources and applicable methodology, which have the potential to accelerate breeding dwarfing rootstocks for apple and other perennial woody fruit trees.

Application of frass from black soldier fly larvae treatment of cattle dung in pulp and papermaking.

Cattle dung treatments in Taiwan have developed a process called Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) treatment, which can digest cow dung and generate the frass (larvae drops), the residue fiber in cow dung. This study aims to assess frass for its potential in pulp and papermaking, considering its chemical compositions, appearance, and fiber morphology, and also evaluate its suitability for pulping by soda method to create added value. The frass exhibits favorable material properties for pulping and papermaking, including a high holocellulose (67.37%) and α-cellulose (48.00%) content, along with a lower ash content (4.61%); the microstructure and surface mesoporous pores benefit for pulping; and the nonwood-fiber-like fiber morphology. The pulping experiment shows that 7% NaOH and 75 min of pulping conditions result in proper disintegration of fiber, and the highest accepts ratio (34.06%). The NaOH causes fiber disintegration during pulping, resulting in a higher strength property of the handsheet. The frass pulp blended with TOCC can achieve the ring crush index standards required for cardboard products. In summary, the frass from BSFL treatment of cattle dung can be utilized in pulp and papermaking to enhance circular utilization value.

More severe initial manifestations and worse short-term functional outcome of intracerebral hemorrhage in the plateau than in the plain.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is one of the most devastating forms of stroke. However, studies on ICH at high altitude are insufficient. We aimed to compare the initial manifestations, imaging features and short-term functional outcomes of ICH at different altitudes, and further explore the effect of altitude on the severity and prognosis of ICH. We retrospectively recruited ICH patients from January 2018 to July 2021 from two centers at different altitudes in China. Information regarding to clinical manifestations, neuroimages, and functional outcomes at discharge were collected and analyzed. Association between altitude and initial severity, neuroimages, and short-term prognosis of ICH were also investigated. A total of 724 patients with 400 lowlanders and 324 highlanders were enrolled. Compared with patients from the plain, those at high altitude were characterized by more severe preliminary manifestations (P < 0.0001), larger hematoma volume (P < 0.001) and poorer short-term functional outcome (P < 0.0001). High altitude was independently associated with dependency at discharge (adjusted P = 0.024), in-hospital mortality (adjusted P = 0.049) and gastrointestinal hemorrhage incidence (adjusted P = 0.017). ICH patients from high altitude suffered from more serious initial manifestations and worse short-term functional outcome than lowlanders. Control of blood pressure, oxygen supplementation and inhibition of inflammation may be critical for ICH at high altitude.

Circular utilization of discarded oyster farming bamboo scaffolding in pulp and papermaking.

Oyster Farming is one of important fisheries and aquaculture industries in Taiwan. Each year, approximately 4000-5000 tons of discarded bamboo scaffolding (BS) used in oyster farming, are generated, so the treatment and utilization of BS should be taken seriously. This study evaluates the suitability of BS for pulp and papermaking by assessing the chemical compositions, microstructural, and fiber morphology. The pulping properties is investigated by soda pulping. The chemical composition of BS shows the potential for application in pulping. The BS microstructure shows that can enhance pulping reactions, while the fiber morphology indicates the possibility of producing high-strength paper. Through the pulping experiment, it demonstrated that BS is suitable for pulping with lower NaOH dosage and longer digestion time. The condition at 170 °C with 14% NaOH dosage for 90 min digestion has the highest yield. After refining the highest pulping yield BS pulp, it can improve the handsheet strength and bulk of the OCC-BS mixed pulp, which can achieve the strength property required for industrial paper. In summary, BS exhibits the potential for pulping application and produces a better paper strength than OCC pulp, exhibiting the feasibility of enhancing the circular utilization value of BS in Taiwan.

Development of bio-mechanical rice straw pulp by high consistency kneader with thermal and Alkaline.

The purpose of this study was to develop a bio-mechanical pulp from rice straw with thermal and low chemical dosage. The process is carried out by thermal alkali kneading pretreatment (0-5% NaOH) with a high concentration kneader, enzyme pretreatment (0.2-4%) and Hollander beater. The results showed that the addition of NaOH was the main factor affecting the properties of pulp and paper, and the best properties of straw pulp could be obtained when NaOH and enzyme dosage were 5% and 0.2%, respectively. Although the optimum rice straw pulp is inferior to straw soda pulp in terms of tensile, burst and ring crush index, it is superior to old corrugated cardboard pulp and partially meets the CNS standards of corrugated medium paper and linerboard without the addition of chemicals. Therefore, the bio-mechanical rice straw pulp in this study has the potential to be produced as industrial paper.

The Impact of Spring Festival Travel on Epidemic Spreading in China.

The large population movement during the Spring Festival travel in China can considerably accelerate the spread of epidemics, especially after the relaxation of strict control measures against COVID-19. This study aims to assess the impact of population migration in Spring Festival holiday on epidemic spread under different scenarios. Using inter-city population movement data, we construct the population flow network during the non-holiday time as well as the Spring Festival holiday. We build a large-scale metapopulation model to simulate the epidemic spread among 371 Chinese cities. We analyze the impact of Spring Festival travel on the peak timing and peak magnitude nationally and in each city. Assuming an R0 (basic reproduction number) of 15 and the initial conditions as the reported COVID-19 infections on 17 December 2022, model simulations indicate that the Spring Festival travel can substantially increase the national peak magnitude of infection. The infection peaks arrive at most cities 1-4 days earlier as compared to those of the non-holiday time. While peak infections in certain large cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, are decreased due to the massive migration of people to smaller cities during the pre-Spring Festival period, peak infections increase significantly in small- or medium-sized cities. For a less transmissible disease (R0 = 5), infection peaks in large cities are delayed until after the Spring Festival. Small- or medium-sized cities may experience a larger infection due to the large-scale population migration from metropolitan areas. The increased disease burden may impose considerable strain on the healthcare systems in these resource-limited areas. For a less transmissible disease, particular attention needs to be paid to outbreaks in large cities when people resume work after holidays.

Global PM2.5 Prediction and Associated Mortality to 2100 under Different Climate Change Scenarios.

Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has severe adverse health impacts, making it crucial to reduce PM2.5 exposure for public health. Meteorological and emissions factors, which considerably affect the PM2.5 concentrations in the atmosphere, vary substantially under different climate change scenarios. In this work, global PM2.5 concentrations from 2021 to 2100 were generated by combining the deep learning technique, reanalysis data, emission data, and bias-corrected CMIP6 future climate scenario data. Based on the estimated PM2.5 concentrations, the future premature mortality burden was assessed using the Global Exposure Mortality Model. Our results reveal that SSP3-7.0 scenario is associated with the highest PM2.5 exposure, with a global concentration of 34.5 µg/m3 in 2100, while SSP1-2.6 scenario has the lowest exposure, with an estimated of 15.7 µg/m3 in 2100. PM2.5-related deaths for individuals under 75 years will decrease by 16.3 and 10.5% under SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5, respectively, from 2030s to 2090s. However, premature mortality for elderly individuals (>75 years) will increase, causing the contrary trends of improved air quality and increased total PM2.5-related deaths in the four SSPs. Our results emphasize the need for stronger air pollution mitigation measures to offset the future burden posed by population age.

Identity of the reversible hole traps in InP/ZnSe core/shell quantum dots.

Density functional theory calculations are combined with time-resolved photoluminescence experiments to identify the species responsible for the reversible trapping of holes following photoexcitation of InP/ZnSe/ZnS core/shell/shell quantum dots (QDs) having excess indium in the shell [P. Cavanaugh et al., J. Chem. Phys. 155, 244705 (2021)]. Several possible assignments are considered, and a substitutional indium adjacent to a zinc vacancy, In3+/VZn 2-, is found to be the most likely. This assignment is consistent with the observation that trapping occurs only when the QD has excess indium and is supported by experiments showing that the addition of zinc oleate or acetate decreases the extent of trapping, presumably by filling some of the vacancy traps. We also show that the addition of alkyl carboxylic acids causes increased trapping, presumably by the creation of additional zinc vacancies. The calculations show that either a single In2+ ion or an In2+-In3+ dimer is much too easily oxidized to form the reversible traps observed experimentally, while In3+ is far too difficult to oxidize. Additional experimental data on InP/ZnSe/ZnS QDs synthesized in the absence of chloride demonstrates that the reversible traps are not associated with Cl-. However, a zinc vacancy adjacent to a substitutional indium is calculated to have its highest occupied orbitals about 1 eV above the top of the valence band of bulk ZnSe, in the appropriate energy range to act as reversible traps for quantum confined holes in the InP valence band. The associated orbitals are predominantly composed of p orbitals on the Se atoms adjacent to the Zn vacancy.

Integrated multi-omics analysis uncovers roles of mdm-miR164b-MdORE1 in strigolactone-mediated inhibition of adventitious root formation in apple.

Apple is one of the most important fruit crops in temperate regions and largely relies on cutting propagation. Adventitious root formation is crucial for the success of cutting propagation. Strigolactones have been reported to function in rooting of woody plants. In this study, we determined that strigolactones have inhibitory effects on adventitious root formation in apple. Transcriptome analysis identified 12 051 differentially expressed genes over the course of adventitious root initiation, with functions related to organogenesis, cell wall biogenesis or plant development. Further analysis indicated that strigolactones might inhibit adventitious root formation through repressing two core hub genes, MdLAC3 and MdORE1. Combining small RNA and degradome sequencing, as well as dual-luciferase sensor assays, we identified and validated three negatively correlated miRNA-mRNA pairs, including mdm-miR397-MdLAC3 and mdm-miR164a/b-MdORE1. Overexpression of mdm-miR164b and silencing MdORE1 exhibited enhanced adventitious root formation in tobacco and apple, respectively. Finally, we verified the role of mdm-miR164b-MdORE1 in strigolactone-mediated repression of rooting ability. Overall, the identified comprehensive regulatory network in apple not only provides insight into strigolactone-mediated adventitious root formation in other woody plants, but also points to a potential strategy for genetic improvement of rooting capacity in woody plants.

Preparation and Properties of Blended Composite Film Manufactured Using Walnut-Peptide-Chitosan-Sodium Alginate.

In this study, layer-by-layer assembly was performed to prepare sodium alginate (SA) layer and walnut-peptide-chitosan (CS) bilayer composite films. Genipin was adopted to crosslink CS and walnut peptide. The properties of walnut peptide-CS-SA composite film were determined, and the influence of material ratio on the performance of composite film was explored. According to the results, the mechanical tensile property, oil absorption property, and water vapor barrier property of the composite film were improved with the presence of genipin. Moreover, the proportion of CS and walnut peptide had significant effects on color, transmittance, mechanical properties, barrier properties, and antioxidant properties of the composite films. Among them, the composite film containing 1% (w/v) CS, 1% (w/v) walnut peptide, and 0.01% (w/v) genipin showed the best performance, with a tensile strength of 3.65 MPa, elongation at break of 30.82%, water vapor permeability of 0.60 g·mm·m-2·h-1·kPa-1, oil absorption of 0.85%, and the three-phase electrochemistry of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging rate of 25.59%. Under this condition, the tensile property, barrier property, and oxidation resistance of the composite film are good, which can provide a good preservation effect for food, and has great application potential.

Acute high-altitude hypoxia exposure causes neurological deficits via formaldehyde accumulation.

INTRODUCTION: Acute high-altitude hypoxia exposure causes multiple adverse neurological consequences. However, the exact mechanisms are still unclear, and there is no targeted treatment with few side effects. Excessive cerebral formaldehyde (FA) impairs numerous functions, and can be eliminated by nano-packed coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). AIMS: In this study, we aimed to investigate whether cerebral FA was accumulated after hypobaric hypoxia exposure, and further explored the preventative effect of CoQ10 through FA elimination. RESULTS: Accumulated cerebral FA was found in C57BL/6 mice after acute high-altitude hypoxia exposure, which resulted in FA metabolic disturbance with the elevation of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase, and declination of aldehyde dehydrogenase-2. Excessive FA was also found to induce neuronal ferroptosis in vivo. Excitingly, administration with CoQ10 for 3 days before acute hypobaric hypoxia reduced cerebral FA accumulation, alleviated subsequent neuronal ferroptosis, and preserved neurological functions. CONCLUSION: Cerebral FA accumulation mediates neurological deficits under acute hypobaric hypoxia, and CoQ10 supplementation may be a promising preventative strategy for visitors and sojourners at plateau.

Feasibility of substituting old corrugated carton pulp with thermal alkali and enzyme pretreated semichemical mechanical rice straw pulp.

In this study, we separately used a laboratory Hollander beater, a pilot scale 12″ single-disc refiner and an expanded trial with a commercial paper mold mill to investigate the feasibility of using thermal-alkali/enzyme pretreated rice straw semi-chemical mechanical pulp to substitute portions of old corrugated carton board (OCC) pulp in the paper industry. In the laboratory plan, sequential treatments of NaOH at a 5-10% dosage and enzymes at a 0.2-4% dosage were applied to rice straw, followed by beating using a Hollander beater for 1-2 h to complete the rice straw semi-chemical mechanical pulping process. When the NaOH dosage, enzyme dosage and refining time were 10%, 0.2% and 1 h, the best quality rice straw pulp was obtained. Along with the increase in NaOH dosage, the pulp freeness decreased significantly, and the pulp accepted rate increased. Enzymatic treatment enhanced rice straw quality only after NaOH dosage treatment, which then reacted with rice straw to increase the quality of pulp. In the expanded trial, the rice straw semi-chemical mechanical pulp was blended with OCC pulp (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) to form handsheets. Along with an increase in rice straw proportions, the tensile index, burst index, and ring-crush index increased by 109-200%, 13-196%, and 124-187%, respectively. In an online commercial paper mold mill trial, blending rice straw pulp with OCC could successfully make paper-mold egg cartons, with both mill operation and product smoothness appearance being highly acceptable.

Biexciton and trion dynamics in InP/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots.

Transient absorption (TA) and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies have been used to elucidate the hole tunneling and Auger dynamics in biexcitons and negative trions in high-quality InP/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs). In a previous paper [Nguyen et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 125, 15405-15414 (2021)], we showed that under high-intensity photoexcitation, two types of biexcitons are formed: those having two conduction band electrons and two valence band holes (designated as an XX state) and those having two conduction band electrons, one valence band hole, and an additional trapped hole (designated as an XT state). In the present paper, we show that both types of biexcitons can undergo Auger processes, with those of the XT state being a factor of four to five slower than those of the XX state. In addition, the trapped holes can undergo tunneling into the valence band, converting an XT state to an XX state. The relative amplitudes of the fast (XX) and slow (XT) components are different in the TA and PL kinetics, and these differences can be quantitatively understood in terms of oscillator strengths and electron-hole overlap integrals of each state. XT to XX hole tunneling rates are obtained from the comparison of the XT state lifetimes with those of the negative trions. This comparison shows that the tunneling times decrease with decreasing core size and shell thickness. These times are about 2 ns for the thinnest shell red-emitting QDs and decrease to 330 ps for QDs that luminesce in the yellow.

Estimation and variation analysis of secondary inorganic aerosols across the Greater Bay Area in 2005 and 2015.

As the concentrations of primary components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have substantially decreased, the contribution of secondary inorganic aerosols to PM2.5 pollution has become more prominent. Therefore, understanding the variations in and characteristics of secondary inorganic aerosols is vital to further reducing PM2.5 concentrations in the future. In this study, an ensemble back-propagation neural network model was built by combining 3D numerical models, observation data, and machine learning methods, to estimate the concentrations of secondary inorganic aerosols (SO2-4, NO-3, and NH+4) across the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in 2005 and 2015. The ensemble model provided a better estimation than the 3D numerical air quality model, with higher correlation coefficients (approximately 0.85) and lower root mean square errors. The model revealed that the concentrations of the SO2-4, NO-3, and NH+4 decreased by 1.91, 0.20, and 0.49 µg/m3, respectively, from 2005 to 2015. To investigate the oxidation and acidy of sulfate, the sulfur oxidation ratio (SOR), degree of sulfate neutralization (DSN), and particle neutralization ratio (PNR) were calculated and analyzed for 2005 and 2015 across the GBA region. The SOR slightly increased in summer, but decreased in other seasons in 2015, indicating the overall weaker sulfate chemical formation due to sulfur emission control measures. The increasing DSN and PNR indicated that more sulfate was neutralized due to reduced sulfur emission and increased ammonia availability. Our study suggests that more effort is needed to control ammonia emission to further reduce the concentrations of SO2-4, NO-3, and NH+4 across the GBA region in the future.

Prevalence and genotype-phenotype correlations of GBA-related Parkinson disease in a large Chinese cohort.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Variants in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene are recognized as a common and important genetic risk factor for Parkinson disease (PD). However, the impact of variant severity on the clinical phenotype of PD in the Chinese population remains unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the frequency of GBA-related PD (GBA-PD) and the relationship of GBA variant severity with clinical characteristics in a large Chinese cohort. METHODS: Long-range polymerase chain reaction and next generation sequencing were performed for the entire GBA gene. GBA variant severity was classified into five classes: mild, severe, risk, complex, and unknown. RESULTS: Among the total 737 PD patients, 47 GBA variants were detected in 79 (10.72%) patients, and the most common GBA variants were R163Q, L444P, and R120W. Complete demographic and clinical data were obtained for 673 patients, which revealed that 18.50% of early onset PD patients had GBA variants. Compared with patients without GBA variants, GBA-PD patients experienced PD onset an average of 4 years earlier and had more severe motor and nonmotor symptoms. Patients carrying severe and complex variants had a higher burden of nonmotor symptoms, especially depression, and more mood/cognitive and gastrointestinal symptoms than patients carrying mild variants. CONCLUSIONS: GBA-PD is highly prevalent in the Chinese population. The severity of GBA variants underlies distinct phenotypic spectrums, with PD patients carrying severe and complex variants seeming to have similar phenotypes. PD patient stratification by GBA variant severity should become a prerequisite for selecting specific treatments.

Lead-free, stable orange-red-emitting hybrid copper based organic-inorganic compounds.

Metal halide perovskites have been extensively studied recently by virtue of their extraordinary luminescence characteristics. However, they still suffer from severe stability issues, and contain a toxic metal lead. Here, single crystals of (PEA)4Cu4I4, a lead-free orange-red-emitting organic-inorganic copper-halide compound with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 68%, were synthesized via a simple solvent vapor diffusion process with commercially-available phenylethylamine (PEA) as a ligand. The crystals show superior stability to perovskites with retaining 60% of their initial photoluminescence (PL) intensity after 60 days in water, which is due to the hydrophobic nature of PEA and the stable Cu-N bonds. Phase transition is found to take place upon lowering the temperature, which causes a redshift of the PL peak. The emission band is identified to be associated with triplet cluster-centered (CC) excited states because of their shortened Cu-Cu distances, excitation-independent PL and long PL lifetime. In addition, micron-sized oleic acid capped (PEA)4Cu4I4 particles were developed by a hot-injection method, and they possess similar stability to that of bulk crystals. A monochrome LED was further fabricated by employing the as-prepared micron-sized particles as phosphors, demonstrating their potential for optoelectronic applications.

Mitigating COVID-19 Transmission in Schools With Digital Contact Tracing.

Precision mitigation of COVID-19 is in pressing need for postpandemic time with the absence of pharmaceutical interventions. In this study, the effectiveness and cost of digital contact tracing (DCT) technology-based on-campus mitigation strategy are studied through epidemic simulations using high-resolution empirical contact networks of teachers and students. Compared with traditional class, grade, and school closure strategies, the DCT-based strategy offers a practical yet much more efficient way of mitigating COVID-19 spreading in the crowded campus. Specifically, the strategy based on DCT can achieve the same level of disease control as rigid school suspensions but with significantly fewer students quarantined. We further explore the necessary conditions to ensure the effectiveness of DCT-based strategy and auxiliary strategies to enhance mitigation effectiveness and make the following recommendation: social distancing should be implemented along with DCT, the adoption rate of DCT devices should be assured, and swift virus tests should be carried out to discover asymptomatic infections and stop their subsequent transmissions. We also argue that primary schools have higher disease transmission risks than high schools and, thereby, should be alerted when considering reopenings.

Radiative dynamics and delayed emission in pure and doped InP/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots.

We have used time-correlated single photon counting to elucidate the radiative dynamics of InP/ZnSe/ZnS core/shell/shell quantum dots (QDs) that differ in the amount and distribution of excess indium. Stoichiometric QDs having an In:P atom ratio very near unity exhibit simple luminescence kinetics. The photoluminescence (PL) rises with the 40 ps instrument response function and exhibits a decay that is close to a single exponential with a time constant that decreases from 32 to 28 ns with increasing shell thickness. QDs having excess indium (In:P ratio of 1.15-1.63) show a significant component of a slower rise time assigned to transient population of indium-based hole traps in the ZnSe shell. They also have a slower PL decay, attributed to an equilibrium between these traps, which are optically dark, and the emissive valence-band state. This results in a radiative lifetime that increases from 32 to 48 ns with increasing shell thickness. Different treatments of the InP cores prior to shell deposition result in different core/shell interfaces as indicated by resonance Raman spectroscopy, as well as differences in the amplitude and timescale of the slow PL rise and the PL decay time. These are interpreted in terms of different radial distributions of the indium-based hole traps, which can be related to differences in the interfacial lattice strain.

Shape-controlled synthesis of Ag/Cs4PbBr6 Janus nanoparticles.

The poor light absorption of visible light for Cs4PbBr6 nanocrystals (NCs) has severely impeded their practical applications. Although the semiconductor/perovskite heterostructure holds great promise for enhancement in absorption, it has remained a serious challenge for synthesizing a semiconductor/perovskite heterostructure. In this work, monodispersed Janus heterostructures composed of Cs4PbBr6 decorated with either multiple Ag or single Ag on its surface (named as mAg/Cs4PbBr6 and sAg/Cs4PbBr6 respectively), are successfully prepared. The size of Ag seeds has an important effect on the shape of the products. Small-sized Ag seeds lead to the formation of mAg/Cs4PbBr6 Janus NCs, while relatively large-sized Ag seeds produce sAg/Cs4PbBr6 Janus NCs. It is noted that this work not only provides a novel method for the modification of individual Cs4PbBr6 NCs, but also enhances the absorption of the Cs4PbBr6 in the visible region, indicating great potential for optoelectronic applications, such as photocatalysis and solar cells.