A new chemosymbiotic bivalve species of the genus Acharax Dall, 1908 (Bivalvia, Solemyida, Solemyidae) from the Haima cold seep of the South China Sea.

Solemyidae is an ancient group of protobranch bivalves that typically inhabit unusual environments, such as deep-sea chemosynthetic environments, and are symbiotic with chemoautotrophic and gill-hosted bacteria. In May 2018, a living solemyid bivalve was collected using a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of 1,390 m from the Haima cold seep in the northwestern slope of the South China Sea. Through a comprehensive taxonomic approach combining morphological observations and molecular phylogeny reconstruction of concatenated mitochondrial COI,16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene sequences, a new species, Acharaxhaimaensissp. nov. is identified and described. The discovery of this new species contributes to the diversity of known solemyids in deep-sea chemosynthetic environments.

First record of the hippolytid shrimp Hippolyteaustraliensis (Stimpson, 1860) (Crustacea, Decapoda) from China.

Background: Two specimens of the genus Hippolyte were examined from the caridean collections of the Marine Biological Museum, Chinese Academy of Sciences. These specimens were captured in the South China Sea in 1987. Detailed inspection revealed that their morphological features closely match the (re)descriptions of Hippolyteaustraliensis, especially in the presence of a long, distinct lateral carina on the rostrum, a dorsally unarmed rostral border, and four prominent terminal spines on the dactylus of the last three pereiopods. New information: The discovery of Hippolyteaustraliensis in Chinese waters represents a significant expansion of its geographic distribution from the South Pacific to the North Pacific. Furthermore, an additional taxonomical report of H.australiensis is provided since its retrieval in 2001.

Complex phase diagram and supercritical matter.

The supercritical region is often described as uniform with no definite transitions. The distinct behaviors of the matter therein, e.g., as liquidlike and gaslike, however, suggest "supercritical boundaries." Here we provide a mathematical description of these phenomena by revisiting the Yang-Lee theory and introducing a complex phase diagram, specifically a four-dimensional (4D) one with complex T and p. While the traditional 2D phase diagram with real temperature T and pressure p values (the physical plane) lacks Lee-Yang (LY) zeros beyond the critical point, preventing the occurrence of criticality, the off-plane zeros in this 4D scenario still induce critical anomalies in various physical properties. This relationship is evidenced by the correlation between the Widom line and LY edges in van der Waals, 2D Ising model, and water. The diverged supercritical boundaries manifest the high-dimensional feature of the phase diagram: e.g., when LY zeros of complex T or p are projected onto the physical plane, boundaries defined by isobaric heat capacity C_{p} or isothermal compression coefficient K_{T} emanates. These results demonstrate the incipient phase transition nature of the supercritical matter.

Projections of climate-driven biogeographical changes of benthic mollusks in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

Climate change influences the distribution of many marine species. To project the biogeographical changes of benthic mollusks in response to climate change in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, ensemble species distribution models (SDMs) were applied. Ensemble SDMs performed well for ten of the thirteen selected benthic mollusks with environmental variables including temperature, salinity, current velocity, and depth. Six cold water mollusks, including bivalves Acila mirabilis, Ennucula niponica, Ennucula tenuis, Nuculana yokoyamai, Pendaloma otohimeae and Megayoldia japonica, were projected to contract their habitats and move northward in 2050s and 2100s under all of the RCP2.6, 4.5, 6.0 and 8.5 climate scenarios, with temperature being the most important environmental variable. Two warm water mollusks (bivalves Nucula tokyoensis and Leptomya minuta) were projected to lose their suitable habitats under future climate scenarios (all RCP scenarios), while two (the gastropod Cylichna biplicata and the bivalve Moerella hilaris) were projected to expand their habitats to the deeper water area. The most important environmental variable varied among warm water species between temperature, salinity and depth. This study will contribute to better understanding the marine species biogeographical changes under climate change, and thus we can better protect their biodiversity.

Crystal-Structure Matches in Solid-Solid Phase Transitions.

The exploration of solid-solid phase transition suffers from the uncertainty of how atoms in two crystal structures match. We devised a theoretical framework to describe and classify crystal-structure matches (CSM). Such description fully exploits the translational and rotational symmetries and is independent of the choice of supercells. This is enabled by the use of the Hermite normal form, an analog of reduced echelon form for integer matrices. With its help, exhausting all CSMs is made possible, which goes beyond the conventional optimization schemes. In an example study of the martensitic transformation of steel, our enumeration algorithm finds many candidate CSMs with lower strains than known mechanisms. Two long-sought CSMs accounting for the most commonly observed Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship and the Nishiyama-Wassermann orientation relationship are unveiled. Given the comprehensiveness and efficiency, our enumeration scheme provide a promising strategy for solid-solid phase transition mechanism research.

The maize PLASTID TERMINAL OXIDASE (PTOX) locus controls the carotenoid content of kernels.

Carotenoids perform a broad range of important functions in humans; therefore, carotenoid biofortification of maize (Zea mays L.), one of the most highly produced cereal crops worldwide, would have a global impact on human health. PLASTID TERMINAL OXIDASE (PTOX) genes play an important role in carotenoid metabolism; however, the possible function of PTOX in carotenoid biosynthesis in maize has not yet been explored. In this study, we characterized the maize PTOX locus by forward- and reverse-genetic analyses. While most higher plant species possess a single copy of the PTOX gene, maize carries two tandemly duplicated copies. Characterization of mutants revealed that disruption of either copy resulted in a carotenoid-deficient phenotype. We identified mutations in the PTOX genes as being causal of the classic maize mutant, albescent1. Remarkably, overexpression of ZmPTOX1 significantly improved the content of carotenoids, especially ß-carotene (provitamin A), which was increased by ~threefold, in maize kernels. Overall, our study shows that maize PTOX locus plays an important role in carotenoid biosynthesis in maize kernels and suggests that fine-tuning the expression of this gene could improve the nutritional value of cereal grains.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the deep-sea paskentanid snail Alviniconcha marisindica (Caenogastropoda: abyssochrysoidea) from the Carlsberg Ridge.

Alviniconcha marisindica Okutani 2014 is a deep-sea gastropod inhabited in hydrothermal vents of the Indo-Pacific. It belongs to superfamily Abyssochrysoidea. In the present study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of A. marisindica, which is 15,979 bp in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes. The nucleotide composition is 29.19% of A, 38.22% of T, 16.88% of G, and 15.71% of C. The phylogenetic analysis indicates that A. marisindica and A. boucheti clustered in the Abyssochrysoidea clade with high bootstrap support. The mitochondrial genome of A. marisindica provides valuable molecular data for further research on the evolution of deep-sea gastropods.

Phylogenetic relationships and adaptation in deep-sea carideans revealed by mitogenomes.

The deep-sea environment is characterized by extreme and inhospitable conditions, including oxygen depletion, low temperatures, high pressure, absence of light, and limited food availability. Mitochondria and mitogenomes play a crudial role in aerobic respiration to generate energy for eukaryotes. Here, using the Illumina Hiseq 4000 platform, we performed mitogenome sequencing for five deep-sea caridean species: Lebbeus shinkaiae, Lebbeus Formosus, Glyphocrangon regalis, Heterocarpus dorsalis, and Heterocarpus laevigatus, and five deep-sea caridean mitogenomes were assembled and identified. Each of the five mitogenomes contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs and 22 tRNAs. Specific elements, such as tandem repeats and AT-rich sequences, were observed in the control regions of Lebbeus formosus and Lebbeus shinkaiae, potentially take a role in regulating mitochondrial genome replication and transcription. The gene order of all obtained mitogenomes follows caridean ancestral type organization. Phylogenetic analysis shows a robustly supported phylogenetic tree for the infraorder Caridea. The monophyly of the families included in this study was strongly supported. This study supports the monophyly of Oplophoroidea, but rejects the monophyletic status of Nematocarcinoidea, Crangonoidea, and Alpheoidea. At the genus level, Plesionika is polyphyletic and Rimicaris is paraphyletic in our analysis. Furthermore, Paralebbeus may be considered invalid and synonymous with Lebbeus. Positive selection analysis reveals evidence for adaptive changes in the mitogenome of different deep-sea caridean lineages. Nine residues located in cox1, cox3, atp6, nad1, nad2, nad4, nad5, nad6 and cytb were determined to have undergone positive selection. Mitogenome of different deep-sea lineages experienced different positive selection, and the lineage represented by Alvinocarididae living in deep-sea hydrothermal vents experienced the strongest positive selection. This study provides valuable insights into the adaptive evolution of deep-sea shrimps at the mitochondrial, highlighting the mitogenomic strategy that contribute to their unique adaptations in the deep-sea environment.

Safety of COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With Breast Cancer: Cross-Sectional Study in China.

BACKGROUND: The widespread use of vaccines against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become one of the most effective means to establish a population immune barrier. Patients with cancer are vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, adverse events, and high mortality, and should be the focus of epidemic prevention and treatment. However, real-world data on the safety of vaccines for patients with breast cancer are still scarce. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the safety of COVID-19 vaccines between patients vaccinated before or after being diagnosed with breast cancer. METHODS: Patients with breast cancer who sought medical advice from October 2021 to December 2021 were screened. Those who received COVID-19 vaccines were enrolled in this study to analyze the safety of the vaccines. The primary outcome was patient-reported adverse events (AEs). All events after vaccine injection were retrospectively documented from the patients. RESULTS: A total of 15,455 patients with breast cancer from 41 hospitals in 20 provinces in China were screened, and 5766 patients who received COVID-19 vaccines were enrolled. Of those enrolled, 45.1% (n=2599) of patients received vaccines before breast cancer diagnosis, 41.3% (n=2379) were vaccinated after diagnosis, and 13.6% (n=784) did not known the accurate date of vaccination or cancer diagnosis. Among the patients vaccinated after diagnosis, 85.4% (n=2032) were vaccinated 1 year after cancer diagnosis and 95.4% (n=2270) were vaccinated during early-stage cancer. Of all 5766 vaccinated patients, 93.9% (n=5415) received an inactivated vaccine, 3.7% (n=213) received a recombinant subunit vaccine, and 2.4% (n=138) received other vaccines, including adenovirus and mRNA vaccines. In the first injection of vaccines, 24.4% (n=10, 95% CI 11.2-37.5) of patients who received an adenovirus vaccine reported AEs, compared to only 12.5% (n=677, 95% CI 11.6-13.4) of those who received an inactivated vaccine. Patients with metastatic breast cancer reported the highest incidence of AEs (n=18, 16.5%, 95% CI 9.5-23.5). Following the second injection, patients who received an inactivated vaccine (n=464, 8.7%, 95% CI 8.0-9.5) and those who received a recombinant vaccine (n=25, 8.7%, 95% CI 5.5-12.0) reported the same incidence of AEs. No significant differences in patient-reported AEs were found between the healthy population and patients with breast cancer (16.4% vs 16.9%, respectively); the most common AEs were local pain (11.1% vs 9.1%, respectively), fatigue (5.5% vs 6.3%, respectively), and muscle soreness (2.3% vs 3.6%, respectively). The type of vaccine and time window of vaccination had little impact on patient-reported AEs. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with patients vaccinated before breast cancer diagnosis, there were no significant differences in patient-reported AEs in the patients vaccinated after diagnosis. Thus, it is safe for patients with breast cancer, especially for those in the early stage, to receive COVID-19 vaccines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200055509; https://tinyurl.com/33zzj882.

Phylogenetics and Population Genetics of the Petrolisthes lamarckii-P. haswelli Complex in China: Old Lineage and New Species.

Petrolisthes lamarckii (Leach, 1821) and P. haswelli Miers, 1884 are a pair of sister species of porcelain crabs, both of which are common in the intertidal zone of southern China, typically found under rocks and in the crevices of coral reefs. However, the distribution, genetic relationship and diversity of the two species in China have not been rigorously studied. Meanwhile, P. lamarckii is considered as a complex of cryptic species due to their diverse morphological features. In this study, we identified 127 specimens of the P. lamarckii-P. haswelli complex (LH complex) and recognised a new species through morphological and molecular analysis. Furthermore, we constructed a time-calibrated phylogeny of the LH complex using three mitochondrial and two nuclear genes from all three species, finding that the divergence of the LH complex can be traced back to the Miocene epoch, and that the genetic diversity increased during the Mid-Pleistocene transition period. Glacial refugia formed during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations has been regarded as one of the contributing factors to the diversification of marine organisms in the north-western Pacific. Petrolisthes haswelli demonstrates a wide distribution along the southern coast of China, while other lineages display more restricted distributions. The research on the demographic history and gene flow of P. haswelli revealed that the Chinese coastal populations experienced an expansion event approximately 12.5 thousand years ago (Kya) and the asymmetrical gene flows were observed between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Qiongzhou Strait, respectively, which is likely influenced by the restriction of ocean currents.

Enhanced copper anticorrosion from Janus-doped bilayer graphene.

The atomic-thick anticorrosion coating for copper (Cu) electrodes is essential for the miniaturisation in the semiconductor industry. Graphene has long been expected to be the ultimate anticorrosion material, however, its real anticorrosion performance is still under great controversy. Specifically, strong electronic couplings can limit the interfacial diffusion of corrosive molecules, whereas they can also promote the surficial galvanic corrosion. Here, we report the enhanced anticorrosion for Cu simply via a bilayer graphene coating, which provides protection for more than 5 years at room temperature and 1000 h at 200 °C. Such excellent anticorrosion is attributed to a nontrivial Janus-doping effect in bilayer graphene, where the heavily doped bottom layer forms a strong interaction with Cu to limit the interfacial diffusion, while the nearly charge neutral top layer behaves inertly to alleviate the galvanic corrosion. Our study will likely expand the application scenarios of Cu under various extreme operating conditions.

Co-infection with human papillomavirus and sexually transmitted infections among Chinese individuals.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and their co-infections on different genders and ages. METHODS: Different samples of secretions from the reproductive system were collected from 459 males and 494 females for HPV and STI detection. RESULTS: Total HPV infection rate was 49.46 % for males and 48.99 % for females, and the distribution of HPV subtypes varied significantly between different genders. The infection rate of HR-HPV 52 and 31 in females was higher than that in males (p = 0.002 and 0.039, respectively). In contrast, the infection rate of LR-HPV 6 and 11 in males was higher than that in females (p = 0.01 and 0.001, respectively). Females had a significantly higher infection rate of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU). Besides, these STIs were stratified based on age and the results indicated that the highest incidence of STIs was observed in younger patients (<20 years old). Patients with HPV infections had a higher incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to perform HPV, CT and UU screening among patients, and more thorough health education for younger patients is of great clinical significance to improve treatment and prognosis.

Temporal variations of diversity and community structure of epifauna along the latitudinal and depth gradients in China seas over nearly 60 years.

To examine the diversity and community structure of epifauna along latitudinal and depth gradients in China seas and its temporal variations over nearly 60 years, a total of 61,424 records of epifauna were compiled. Latitudinal gradients of γ-diversity from 28 to 37°N showed two peaks of increase in 1958-1960; however, only one peak was observed near 28°N in 2000-2015. Along depth gradient, the peak of species richness shifted about 10 m deeper from about 50 m in 1958-1960 to about 60 m in 2000-2015. Values of α-diversity were higher in 2000-2015 than that in 1958-1960 in latitudes from 30 to 33°N and in depth from 50 to 75 m, respectively. Epifaunal communities were distributed basically along latitudinal and depth gradients. Spatial patterns of communities in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea were found relatively stable over nearly 60 years.

A pathogenesis-related protein 1 of Cucurbita moschata responds to powdery mildew infection.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) productivity is severely hindered by powdery mildew (PM) worldwide. The causative agent of pumpkin PM is Podosphaera xanthii, a biotrophic fungus. Pathogenesis-related protein 1 (PR1) homolog was previously identified from transcriptomic analysis of a PM-resistant pumpkin. Here, we investigated the effects of CmPR1 gene from pumpkin for resistance to PM. Subcellular localization assay revealed that CmPR1 is a cytoplasmic protein in plants. The expression of CmPR1 gene was strongly induced by P. xanthii inoculation at 48 h and exogenous ethylene (ET), jasmonic acid (JA) and NaCl treatments, but repressed by H2O2 and salicylic acid (SA) treatments. Visual disease symptoms, histological observations of fungal growth and host cell death, and accumulation of H2O2 in transgenic tobacco plants indicated that CmPR1 overexpression significantly enhanced the resistance to Golovinomyces cichoracearum compared to wild type plants during PM pathogens infection, possibly due to inducing cell death and H2O2 accumulation near infected sites. The expression of PR1a was significantly induced in transgenic tobacco plants in response to G. cichoracearum, suggesting that CmPR1 overexpression positively modulates the resistance to PM via the SA signaling pathway. These findings indicate that CmPR1 is a defense response gene in C. moschata and can be exploited to develop disease-resistant crop varieties.

White and green striate leaves 1, predicted to encode a 16S rRNA processing protein, plays a critical role in the processing of chloroplast ribosomes in maize (Zea mays L.).

Ribosomes play a crucial role in protein biosynthesis and are linked to plant growth and development. The RimM protein has been shown to be involved in the maturation of 30S ribosomal subunits, but its exact function in plants is still unknown. In this study, we discovered a maize mutant with white and green striate leaves (wgsl1) and reduced chlorophyll content. Genetic analysis showed that the wgsl1 mutation was recessive and controlled by a single nuclear gene. Map-based cloning of ZmWGSL1 identified a base substitution (G to A) that generated a missense mutation within the Zm00001d039036 gene in the wgsl1 mutant. Zm00001d039036 encodes a 16S rRNA processing protein containing the RimM motif. Further analysis of transcriptomic data showed that the transcript levels of many ribosomal proteins involved in the small and big ribosomal subunits were dramatically up-regulated in the wgsl1 mutant. Moreover, the level of ribosomal multimers was decreased. This suggests that ZmWGSL1 plays a crucial role in the maturation of the ribosome, leading to abnormal plant growth and development. In addition, subcellular localization results indicate that WGSL1 is localized in chloroplasts. Therefore, we suggest that WGSL1 is a nuclear-encoded protein, is transported to the chloroplast to drive functions, and affects the processing of ribosomes in the chloroplast. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-023-01407-y.

Determination of the preferred epitaxy for III-nitride semiconductors on wet-transferred graphene.

Transferred graphene provides a promising III-nitride semiconductor epitaxial platform for fabricating multifunctional devices beyond the limitation of conventional substrates. Despite its tremendous fundamental and technological importance, it remains an open question on which kind of epitaxy is preferred for single-crystal III-nitrides. Popular answers to this include the remote epitaxy where the III-nitride/graphene interface is coupled by nonchemical bonds, and the quasi-van der Waals epitaxy (quasi-vdWe) where the interface is mainly coupled by covalent bonds. Here, we show the preferred one on wet-transferred graphene is quasi-vdWe. Using aluminum nitride (AlN), a strong polar III-nitride, as an example, we demonstrate that the remote interaction from the graphene/AlN template can inhibit out-of-plane lattice inversion other than in-plane lattice twist of the nuclei, resulting in a polycrystalline AlN film. In contrast, quasi-vdWe always leads to single-crystal film. By answering this long-standing controversy, this work could facilitate the development of III-nitride semiconductor devices on two-dimensional materials such as graphene.

Biomimetic redox-responsive smart coatings with resistance-release functions for reverse osmosis membranes.

Membrane fouling induces catastrophic loss of separation performance and seriously restricts the applications of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Inspired by the mussel structure, polydopamine (PDA) and cystamine molecules (CA) with excellent anti-fouling properties were used to prepare accessible, biocompatible, and redox-responsive coatings for RO membranes. The PDA/CA-coated RO membranes exhibit a superior water flux of 65 L m-2 h-1 with a favourable NaCl rejection exceeding 99%. The water permeability through the PDA/CA-coated membrane is much higher than that of most membranes with similar rejection rates. Due to the formed protective hydration layers by PDA/CA coatings, anti-fouling properties against proteins, polysaccharides and surfactants were evaluated separately, and ultralow fouling properties were demonstrated. Moreover, the disulfide linkages in CA molecules can cleave in a reducing environment, yielding the degradation of PDA/CA coatings, thereby removing the foulants deposited on the coatings. The degradation endows the coated membranes with satisfying longtime anti-fouling properties, where the flux recovery reaches up to 90%. The construction of redox-responsive smart coatings not only provided a promising route to alleviate membrane fouling but can also be upscaled for use in numerous practical applications like sensors, medical devices, and drug delivery.

Eco-Friendly Silver Nanoparticles/Chitosan/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Composites Exhibit Remarkable EMI Shielding Capabilities and Outstanding Thermal Conductivities.

The integration and miniaturization of contemporary electronics have led to significant challenges in dealing with electromagnetic (EM) radiation and heat accumulation. Despite these issues, achieving high thermal conductivity (TC) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) in polymer composite films remains an exceptionally difficult task. In this work, we used a straightforward in situ reduction process and a vacuum-drying method to successfully prepare a flexible Ag NPs/chitosan (CS)/PVA nanocomposite with three-dimensional (3D) conductive and thermally conductive network architectures. The 3D silver pathways formed by attaching to the chitosan fibers endow the material with simultaneous exceptional TC and EMI capabilities. At a silver concentration of 25 vol %, the TC of Ag NPs/CS/PVA nanocomposites reaches 5.18 W·m-1·K-1, exhibiting an approximately 25 times increase compared to CS/PVA composites. The electromagnetic shielding performance of 78.5 dB significantly outperforms the specifications of standard commercial EMI shielding applications by a significant margin. Additionally, Ag NPs/CS/PVA nanocomposites have greatly benefited from microwave absorption (SEA), effectively impeding the transmission of EM waves and reducing the reflected secondary EM wave pollution. Meanwhile, the composite material still maintains good mechanical properties and bendability. This endeavor helped develop malleable and durable composites that possess superior EMI shielding capabilities and intriguing heat dissipation properties using innovative design and fabrication methods.

Potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of echinoderms in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

To detect potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of common echinoderm species in the Yellow Sea (YS) and East China Sea (ECS), species distribution models (SDMs) were applied. Ensemble SDMs were constructed and were in good model performance for six of the eight selected common echinoderm species. Under future climate scenarios, the brittle stars Ophiopholis mirabilis, Amphioplus depressus and the sea cucumber Protankyra bidentata were projected to expand in the southwestern areas of the YS, the ECS, and the coastal areas of the YS and ECS, respectively; the brittle stars Stegophiura sladeni, Amphiura digitula and Amphiura vadicola will likely contract their ranges in the south distribution areas and expand in the north, showing a northward movement trend. Temperature was the most important environmental variable influencing the distribution of the latter three echinoderms. Our findings will improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change on marine species distributions.