Salsolinol as an RNA m~6A methylation inducer mediates dopaminergic neuronal death by regulating YAP1 and autophagy

Salsolinol(1-methyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline,Sal)is a catechol isoquinoline that causes neurotoxicity and shares structural similarity with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine,an environmental toxin that causes Parkinson's disease.However,the mechanism by which Sal mediates dopaminergic neuronal death remains unclear.In this study,we found that Sal significantly enhanced the global level of N~6-methyladenosine(m~6A)RNA methylation in PC12 cells,mainly by inducing the downregulation of the expression of m~6A demethylases fat mass and obesity-associated protein(FTO)and alk B homolog 5(ALKBH5).RNA sequencing analysis showed that Sal downregulated the Hippo signaling pathway.The m~6A reader YTH domain-containing family protein 2(YTHDF2)promoted the degradation of m~6A-containing Yes-associated protein 1(YAP1)mRNA,which is a downstream key effector in the Hippo signaling pathway.Additionally,downregulation of YAP1 promoted autophagy,indicating that the mutual regulation between YAP1 and autophagy can lead to neurotoxicity.These findings reveal the role of Sal on m~6A RNA methylation and suggest that Sal may act as an RNA methylation inducer mediating dopaminergic neuronal death through YAP1 and autophagy.Our results provide greater insights into the neurotoxic effects of catechol isoquinolines compared with other studies and may be a reference for assessing the involvement of RNA methylation in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

Nonlinear Filtering With Sample-Based Approximation Under Constrained Communication:Progress, Insights and Trends

The nonlinear filtering problem has enduringly been an active research topic in both academia and industry due to its ever-growing theoretical importance and practical significance.The main objective of nonlinear filtering is to infer the states of a nonlinear dynamical system of interest based on the available noisy measurements. In recent years, the advance of network communication technology has not only popularized the networked systems with apparent advantages in terms of installation,cost and maintenance, but also brought about a series of challenges to the design of nonlinear filtering algorithms, among which the communication constraint has been recognized as a dominating concern. In this context, a great number of investigations have been launched towards the networked nonlinear filtering problem with communication constraints, and many samplebased nonlinear filters have been developed to deal with the highly nonlinear and/or non-Gaussian scenarios. The aim of this paper is to provide a timely survey about the recent advances on the sample-based networked nonlinear filtering problem from the perspective of communication constraints. More specifically, we first review three important families of sample-based filtering methods known as the unscented Kalman filter, particle filter,and maximum correntropy filter. Then, the latest developments are surveyed with stress on the topics regarding incomplete/imperfect information, limited resources and cyber security.Finally, several challenges and open problems are highlighted to shed some lights on the possible trends of future research in this realm.

Butterfly taxonomic and functional diversity in the urban green spaces of Hefei city

Urbanization has profound impacts on ecological environments. Green spaces are a vital component of urban ecosystems and play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and enhancing sustainability. This study aimed to investigate the community composition characteristics of butterflies in urban green spaces within the context of rapid urbanization. Simultaneously, it explored the status and differences in butterfly taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and functional traits among different types of urban green spaces, regions, and urban gradients to provide relevant insights for further improving urban green space quality and promoting biodiversity conservation. We conducted a year-long survey of 80 green spaces across different urban regions and ring roads within Hefei City, Anhui Province, with monthly sampling intervals over 187 transects. A total of 4822 butterflies, belonging to 5 families, 17 subfamilies, 40 genera, and 55 species were identified. The species richness, Shannon, Simpson, functional richness, and Rao's quadratic entropy indices of butterflies in urban park green spaces were all significantly higher than those in residential and street green spaces(P < 0.05). Differences in butterfly diversity and functional traits among different urban regions and ring roads were relatively minor, and small-sized, multivoltine, and long flying duration butterflies dominated urban green spaces. Overall, these spaces offer more favorable habitats for butterflies. However, some residential green spaces and street green spaces demonstrate potential for butterfly conservation.

Accelerating the evaluation of operational lifetimes of perovskite solar cells and modules

Compared with the power conversion efficicency,the operational stability of perovskite solar cells(PsCs)remains a major challenge hampering its commercialization.However,conducting a light soaking test under 1 sun illumination to get a long lifetime is time-consuming and experimentally inefficient.Here,we report an accelerated stability test protocol by aging PsCs under high-intensity light illumination to accelerate the evaluation of their operation stability.It is found that the efficiency degradation rate of a typical inverted PsC is almost linearly dependent on the light intensity within the range of 1 to 4 suns regardless of the encapsulations.The results prove that it can save the light-soaking time by at least 4 times to predict the operation lifetime on the basis of the equivalent light irradiation dose.

Conducting Polymers Meet Lithium-Sulfur Batteries:Progress,Challenges,and Perspectives

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries have attracted increased interest because of the high theoretical energy density,low cost,and environmental friendliness.Conducting polymers(CPs),as one of the most promising materials used in Li-S batteries,can not only facilitate electron transfer and buffer the large volumetric change of sulfur benefiting from their porous structure and excellent flexibility,but also enable stronger physical/chemical adsorption capacity toward polysulfides(LiPSs)when doped with abundant heteroatoms to promote the sulfur redox kinetics and achieve the high sulfur loading.This review firstly introduces the properties of various CPs including structural CPs(polypyrrole(PPy),polyaniline(PANi),polyethylene dioxothiophene[PEDOT])and compound CPs(polyethylene oxide(PEO),polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)and poly(acrylic acid)[PAA]),and their application potential in Li-S batteries.Furthermore,the research progress of various CPs in different components(cathode,separator,and interlayer)of Li-S batteries is systematically summarized.Finally,the application perspective of the CPs in Li-S batteries as a potential guidance is comprehensively discussed.

Circular RNA expression and the competitive endogenous RNA network in pathological,age-related macular degeneration events:A cross-platform normalization study

Age-related macular degeneration(AMD)causes irreversible blindness in people aged over 50 worldwide.The dysfunction of the retinal pigment epithelium is the primary cause of atrophic AMD.In the current study,we used the ComBat and Training Distribution Matching method to integrate data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database.We analyzed the integrated sequencing data by the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis.Peroxisome and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)signaling and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)were among the top 10 pathways,and thus we selected them to construct AMD cell models to identify differentially expressed circular RNAs(circRNAs).We then constructed a competing endogenous RNA network,which is related to differentially expressed circRNAs.This network included seven circRNAs,15 microRNAs,and 82 mRNAs.The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis of mRNAs in this network showed that the hypoxia-inducible factor-1(HIF-1)signaling pathway was a common downstream event.The results of the current study may provide insights into the pathological processes of atrophic AMD.

Synthesis of Modified Walnut Shell Biochar and Its Performance of Cadmium Adsorption

Biochar is a functional and environmentally friendly material mainly made from by-products of industrial and agricultural production as raw material, which is cracked at high temperatures and slow speeds. The preparation of biochar requires the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-restricted environment. Different raw materials and preparation processes result in biochar with different internal structures and biofunctional groups, which often have different properties. Adsorption of heavy metal pollutants is one of the main research directions for biochar application, and there are still areas that can be improved in the current research for biochar for treating heavy metal wastewater. In this study, we take the treatment of cadmium-containing wastewater as an example, walnut shell biochar (WSBC) as a carrier, iron(VI) compounds as a modifying reagent, and test the performance of cadmium-containing wastewater treatment using simulated cadmium-containing wastewater by adjusting the pyrolysis process and modification method at the same time to find the optimal experimental scheme, and give a reasonable theoretical explanation in relation to the results of the characterization tests, such as SEM, FT-IR, and so on. The characterized results show that iron(VI) compound (K2FeO4)-modified WSBC has a significant ability to remove cadmium contamination in the wastewater (remove 96.62% of cadmium in 1 minute), and its structure is different from other iron compound-modified ones. The aim of this study is to improve the efficiency of cadmium adsorption by specific types of biochar, while realizing the whole process as environmentally friendly as possible.

磷基钠离子电池负极材料研究进展

钠离子电池因丰富的钠储量以及与锂离子电池相似的工作原理,是重要的可替代锂离子电池的新型储能技术。但是较低能量密度和功率密度阻碍了钠离子电池的大规模应用。因此高性能钠离子电池电极材料特别是负极材料的研发成为钠离子电池发展的关键。磷基电极材料具有较高的理论容量,且储量丰富价格低廉,因此其成为极具应用前景的钠离子电池负极材料。然而,导电性差和过大的体积膨胀导致磷基负极容量和循环寿命低,通过尺寸结构调控和与碳基或非碳基材料复合能够有效缓解磷基电极材缺陷,从而提高钠离子电池的循环容量、稳定性与倍率性能。本文详细综述了近年来磷基钠离子电池负极材料的最新研究进展,主要包括储钠机理和改性策略,总结了目前磷基负极材料研究存在的问题,并提出了解决这些问题的方法和策略,最后对钠离子电池发展前景进行了展望。

Three-dimensional hierarchical CuO gas sensor modified by Au nanoparticles

The three-dimensional hierarchical CuO and Au nanoparticles were synthesized by the hydrothermal method, respectively. The hierarchical CuO and the Au nanoparticles samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscope, respectively. The as-synthesized CuO was assembled regularly from the nanosheets with thickness of 100 nm. The size of Au nanoparticles ranged from 50 to 200 nm. The hierarchical CuO gas sensors modified by different concentration of gold were fabricated. All the Au-loaded CuO gas sensors enhanced the response to ethanol and xylene while reducing the response to methanol, acetone, and formaldehyde. The results indicate that the Au nanoparticles prepared with PVP as surfactant can improve the selectivity of CuO gas sensors to ethanol gas for other common organic volatile gases. The improvement of gas sensing is mainly attributed to the different catalytic efficiency of the Au nanoparticles for different reactions. Meanwhile, the related mechanisms are discussed.

Effects of a nitric oxide donor and nitric oxide scavengers on Sorbus pohuashanensis embryo germination

The effects of an exogenous nitric oxide donor(sodium nitroprusside, SNP), a NO scavenger 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxode(PTIO) and carboxy-PTIO potassium salt(c PTIO) on the embryo germination of Sorbus pohuashanensis were studied in a petri dish test. SNP at 0.5–5 mmol L-1 increased germination percentage, mean time to germination, germination index and germination energy compared with the control to different degrees. Treatment with 2 mmol L-1 SNP improved germination most significantly; embryo germination percentage for mother tree 1(91.11%) and mother tree 2(64.44%) were much higher than the control. In addition,excessive SNP levels did not enhance embryo germination.Combined treatment with SNP and an NO scavenger delayed embryo germination. Treatment with c PTIO inhibited embryo germination; germination percentage was 42.22% and was lower than that of the control. These results show that low concentrations of exogenous NO can enhance the embryo germination of S. pohuashanensis,providing a simple, effective way for promoting germination of S. pohuashanensis.

Interaction between reactive oxygen species and hormones during the breaking of embryo dormancy in Sorbus pohuashanensis by exogenous nitric oxide

The breaking of dormancy mediated by reac-tive nitrogen species(RNS)is related to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species(ROS)in germinating embryos but the underlying mechanism is unclear.The objectives of this study were:(1)to explore the relationship between RNS-mediated dormancy release and ROS accumulation in germinating embryos of Sorbus pohuashanensis;and,(2)to investigate the relationships among germination time,ROS metabolism,and endogenous hormone synthesis.We studied the effects of exogenous nitric oxide(NO)donor sodium nitroprusside(SNP),the NO scavenger(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide(PTIO),abscisic acid(ABA),the exogenous ethylene donor ethrel,and the ethylene receptor inhibitor 2,5-norbornadien(NBD)on embryo germination and seedling growth.Embryos were released from dormancy by pretreatment with NO or ethylene, which was related to increased ethylene biosyn-thesis and decreased ABA levels. Breaking of dormancy by SNP was related to increased levels of ethylene, hydrogen peroxide, and glutathione, increased activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and decreased levels of ABA, superoxide anions, and malondialdehyde. These effects of nitric oxide were especially significant in seedling hypocotyls and radicles. These results demonstrate that NO can break S. pohuashanensis embryo dormancy by induc-ing ethylene biosynthesis, and that this signalling pathway is closely related to ROS accumulation and the antioxidant defence response.

机械力诱导MHC-Ⅰ构象变化增强TCR抗原识别及T细胞活化

CD8+T细胞主要通过T细胞表面受体(T cell recep tor,TCR)识别并与Ⅰ型主要组织性复合物提呈的抗原(pMHC-Ⅰ)相互作用[1]。TCR对刺激型抗原的识别在CD8+T细胞毒性和适应性免疫中发挥着关键作用。许多证据表明机械力可以延长TCR与刺激性pMHC作用的键合时间(bond lifetime)形成抗原特异性逆锁键(catch bond)[2],并且这种逆锁键对抗原识别非常重要。然而,机械力调控TCR抗原识别的具体结构机制仍不清楚。通过分子动力学模拟、单分子生物膜力学探针、磁镊、T细胞活化实验和动物模型对此问题展开了系统的研究[4]。发现作用在TCR-pMHC-Ⅰ复合体上的拉力可以作用在TCR-pMHC-Ⅰ复合体上的拉力可以打破MHC-I分子内部α1-α2和β2结构域间的相互作用,导致α1-α2结构域旋转并发生构象变化。力诱导的MHC-I构象变化可以进一步别构地调节TCR与刺激性抗原肽及α1-α2结构域的构象及相互作用,诱导产生新的氢键,增强TCR-pMHC-Ⅰ之间的键合时间,但并不能增强TCR与抑制性pMHC-Ⅰ之间的作用。当用点突变阻断这些新形成的氢键,或者α1-α2和β2结构域被二硫键锁住时,最佳力诱导的TCR-pMHC-Ⅰ作用的键合时间明显缩短并且T细胞的活化受到抑制。另外,在人TCR和HLA-A2相互作用中发现了类似机制,并且与肿瘤相关的HLA-A2点突变[3]可以通过限制HLA-A2α1--α2和β2结构域之间的构象打开减弱TCR对肿瘤抗原的识别及T细胞的功能。研究结果表明,机械力诱导的MHC-I构象变化对TCR抗原识别和T细胞活化非常重要,进一步地阐明了机械力调控TCR抗原识别机制,为临床肿瘤的免疫治疗和药物设计提供了新思路和新靶点。

Surface Water Quality Assessment Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques:Case Study of Songhua River Basin,China

Multivariate statistical techniques,such as principal component analysis(PCA),factor analysis(FA)and cluster analysis(CA),were applied to evaluating and interpreting the surface water quality datasets of the Songhua River Basin(SRB)in China,obtained during two years(2012-2013)of monitoring of 13 physicochemical parameters at 29 different sites.PCA assisted to recognize the factors or origins responsible for surface water quality variations and identified three latent factors and explained 83.79%of the total variance,standing for organic pollution,metal pollution and oil pollution,respectively.FA revealed that the SRB water chemistry was strongly affected by the discharge of industrial,agricultural and municipal sewage water,mining operations and petroleum exploitation.Hierarchical CA grouped 29 different sampling sites into three groups,i.e.,relatively less polluted(LP),moderately polluted(MP)and highly polluted(HP)sites,based on the similarity of water quality characteristics.This study illustrates the usefulness of multivariate statistical techniques for the analysis and interpretation of huge and complex data sets,identification of pollution sources and better understanding variations in water quality for effective surface water management.

Grey Relevance Analysis of Major Factors of Energy-Related CO2 Emissions in Tianjin,China

Energy-related CO2 emissions from Tianjin’s production and household sectors during 2000–2012 were calculated based on the default carbon-emission coefficients provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Grey relational analysis was used in this study to capture the dynamic characteristics of 12 different factors related to CO2 emissions.The results indicated that population scale and structure,industrial structure,per capita disposable income,energy consumption and structure appeared as the main drivers related to the CO2 emissions increase during the study period.Based on the research,we make the policy recommendations including optimizing the industrial structure and energy structure,improving energy efficiency and promoting low-carbon consumption.

Decoding m^(6)A mRNA methylation by reader proteins in liver diseases

N6-methyladenosine(m^(6)A)is a dynamic and reversible epigenetic regulation.As the most prevalent internal post-transcriptional modification in eukaryotic RNA,it participates in the regulation of gene expression through various mechanisms,such as mRNA splicing,nuclear export,localization,translation efficiency,mRNA stability,and structural transformation.The involvement of m^(6)A in the regulation of gene expression depends on the specific recognition of m^(6)A-modified RNA by reader proteins.In the pathogenesis and treatment of liver disease,studies have found that the expression levels of key genes that promote or inhibit the development of liver disease are regulated by m^(6)A modification,in which abnormal expression of reader proteins determines the fate of these gene transcripts.In this review,we introduce m^(6)A readers,summarize the recognition and regulatory mechanisms of m^(6)A readers on mRNA,and focus on the biological functions and mechanisms of m^(6)A readers in liver cancer,viral hepatitis,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),hepatic fibrosis(HF),acute liver injury(ALI),and other liver diseases.This information is expected to be of high value to researchers deciphering the links between m^(6)A readers and human liver diseases.

Chinese Society of Cardiology guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of adult fulminant myocarditis

Fulminant myocarditis is an acute diffuse inflammatory disease of myocardium.It is characterized by acute onset,rapid progress and high risk of death.Its pathogenesis involves excessive immune activation of the innate immune system and formation of inflammatory storm.According to China’s practical experience,the adoption of the“life support-based comprehensive treatment regimen”(with mechanical circulation support and immunomodulation therapy as the core)can significantly improve the survival rate and long-term prognosis.Special emphasis is placed on very early identification,very early diagnosis,very early prediction and very early treatment.

Multiple-stage spatial-temporal cooperative guidance without time-to-go estimation

This paper investigates the spatial-temporal cooperative guidance problem for multiple flight vehicles without relying on time-to-go information.First,a two-stage cooperative guidance strategy,namely the cooperative guidance and the Proportional Navigation Guidance(PNG)stage strategy,is developed to realize the spatial-temporal constraints in two dimensions.At the former stage,two controllers are designed and superimposed to satisfy both impact time consensus and impact angle constraints.Once the convergent conditions are satisfied,the flight vehicles will switch to the PNG stage to ensure zero miss distance.To further extend the results to three dimensions,a planar pursuit guidance stage is additionally imposed at the beginning of guidance.Due to the inde-pendence of time-to-go estimation,the proposed guidance strategy possesses great performance in satisfying complex spatial-temporal constraints even under flight speed variation.Finally,several numerical simulations are implemented to verify the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed results under different scenarios.

足月新生儿屈光状态及其影响因素

目的:获得足月新生儿基线屈光状态的数据并分析其影响因素。方法:横断面研究。采用简单随机抽样的方法纳入2022年1—10月于北京市海淀区妇幼保健院出生的足月新生儿379例(758眼)。通过检影验光获得睫状肌麻痹后的屈光度并计算等效球镜度(SE)。比较不同性别、眼别、日龄、孕周、出生身长、出生体质量、生产方式、父母双方近视度数之间屈光度的差异,分析SE与各参数之间的相关性并筛选SE的影响因素。采用秩和检验进行差异性检验,采用Spearman分析进行相关性分析,采用多元线性回归筛选SE的影响因素。结果:新生儿SE为+3.00(+1.75,+4.00)D,左眼高于右眼,差异有统计学意义(Z=-2.70,P=0.007);出生后1个月内,日龄越大,SE越低,差异有统计学意义(χ^(2)=21.89,P<0.001);巨大儿SE高于体质量正常新生儿,差异有统计学意义(χ^(2)=13.36,P=0.001);父亲或母亲为高度近视的新生儿SE低于父母为中低度近视或无近视者,差异有统计学意义(χ^(2)=11.60,P=0.003;χ^(2)=13.50,P=0.001)。SE与日龄(r=-0.12,P=0.001)、父亲近视度数(r=-0.11,P=0.003)和母亲近视度数(r=-0.11,P=0.002)呈负相关,与出生体质量(r=0.11,P=0.002)呈正相关。多元线性回归筛选出眼别、日龄、出生体质量、父亲近视度数和母亲近视度数是新生儿SE的显著相关要素(均P<0.05)。结论:足月新生儿屈光状态为轻中度远视,左眼远视度高于右眼,出生后1个月内日龄越大SE越低,SE与出生体质量呈正相关,与父母近视程度呈负相关。

Advances in thermal-related analysis techniques for solid-state lithium batteries

Solid-state lithium batteries(SSLBs)have been broadly accepted as a promising candidate for the next generation lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)with high energy density,long duration,and high safety.The intrinsic non-flammable nature and electrochemical/thermal/mechanical stability of solid electrolytes are expected to fundamentally solve the safety problems of conventional LIBs.However,thermal degradation and thermal runaway could also happen in SSLBs.For example,the large interfacial resistance between solid electrolytes and electrodes could aggravate the joule heat generation;the anisotropic thermal diffusion could trigger the uneven temperature distribution and formation of hotspots further leading to lithium dendrite growth.Considerable research efforts have been devoted to exploring solid electrolytes with outstanding performance and harmonizing interfacial incompatibility in the past decades.There have been fewer comprehensive reports investigating the thermal reaction process,thermal degradation,and thermal runaway of SSLBs.This review seeks to highlight advanced thermal-related analysis techniques for SSLBs,by focusing particularly on multiscale and multidimensional thermal-related characterization,thermal monitoring techniques such as sensors,thermal experimental techniques imitating the abuse operating condition,and thermalrelated advanced simulations.Insightful perspectives are proposed to bridge fundamental studies to technological relevance for better understanding and performance optimization of SSLBs.

First Asian fossil record of Platydictya (Amblystegiaceae) from the lower Miocene and its paleoenvironmental significance

Mosses form a diverse land plant group in modern vegetation but have rarely showed up in the fossil record compared with vascular plants. Here, we report an extraordinarily-preserved early Miocene moss fossil from the lower Laoliangdi Formation in the Pingzhuang Coal Mine in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China. Although lacking rhizoids and most reproductive organs, the well-preserved fossil allows us to assign it to Platydictya cf. jungermannioides (Amblystegiaceae) based upon its detailed gross and micro-morphology. The diagnostic characteristics include a small-sized body with slender stems bearing spirally arranged ovate-lanceolate leaves that lack costae. Leaf margins are mostly partly entire and partly dentate, a few dentate, and rarely completely entire. It represents the first fossil record of Platydictya in Asia. The specific living microenvironment of the extant P. jungermannioides enriched our understanding of the early Miocene environment that was previously based upon vascular plant fossils and sedimentary lithofacies in the area. Our early Miocene Platydictya cf. jungermannioides fossil lived in a warm and humid lush forest with a dense understory that received adequate water supplies.