The class B heat shock factor HSFB1 regulates heat tolerance in grapevine

Grape is a widely cultivated crop with high economic value.Most cultivars derived from mild or cooler climates may not withstand increasing heat stress.Therefore,dissecting the mechanisms of heat tolerance in grapes is of particular significance.Here,we performed comparative transcriptome analysis of Vitis davidii‘Tangwei’(heat tolerant)and Vitis vinifera‘Jingxiu’(heat sensitive)grapevines after exposure to 25°C,40°C,or 45°C for 2 h.More differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were detected in‘Tangwei’than in‘Jingxiu’in response to heat stress,and the number of DEGs increased with increasing treatment temperatures.We identified a class B Heat Shock Factor,HSFB1,which was significantly upregulated in‘Tangwei’,but not in‘Jingxiu’,at high temperature.VdHSFB1 from‘Tangwei’and VvHSFB1 from‘Jingxiu’differ in only one amino acid,and both showed similar transcriptional repression activities.Overexpression and RNA interference of HSFB1 in grape indicated that HSFB1 positively regulates the heat tolerance.Moreover,the heat tolerance of HSFB1-overexpressing plants was positively correlated to HSFB1 expression level.The activity of the VdHSFB1 promoter is higher than that of VvHSFB1 under both normal and high temperatures.Promoter analysis showed that more TATA-box and AT∼TATA-box cis-elements are present in the VdHSFB1 promoter than the VvHSFB1 promoter.The promoter sequence variations between VdHSFB1 and VvHSFB1 likely determine the HSFB1 expression levels that inf luence heat tolerance of the two grape germplasms with contrasting thermotolerance.Collectively,we validated the role of HSFB1 in heat tolerance,and the knowledge gained will advance our ability to breed heat-tolerant grape cultivars.

Inhibitory of EV-A71 virus-induced apoptosis by ZVAD through ROS mediated signaling pathways

Emerging evidence that Enterovirus A 71(EV-A71)infection closely related to apoptosis.The ZVAD is a caspase inhibitor that can prevent apoptosis.The aims of this project were to evaluate the mechanism of the ZVAD inhibited EV-A71 virus and to provide experiment basis for finding new antiviral drugs.In this study,after treated with ZVAD in EV-A71 infected Vero cells,the viral replication was reduced,and the cell viability was higher than EV-A71 group.Additionally,ZVAD decreased the cell apoptosis and the level of inflammatory cytokines induced by EV-A71 in the infected Vero cells.ZVAD inhibited cell apoptosis by regulating ROS mediated signaling pathway and inflammation cytokines to achieve antiviral.

L-Selenocystine induce HepG2 cells apoptosis through ROS-mediated signaling pathways

At present,Hepatocarcinoma is one of the main causes of tumor related death all over the world.However,there are still many clinical restrictions on the treatment of liver cancer.Recently,L-Selenocystine has been shown to be a novel treatment for tumors,especially human glioma cells.But,the mechanism of L-Selenocystine against hepatocellular carcinoma remains unclear.Therefore,the main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of L-Selenocystine on HepG2 cell proliferation and activation of reactive oxygen species(ROS)mediated signaling pathway.L-Selenocystine can significantly inhibit HepG2 cell proliferation by activating caspase-3 and cleaving PARP to induce apoptosis.Moreover,the excessive production of ROS and the influence of Bax signaling pathway which can promote cell apoptosis are key factors for L-Selenocystine to induce HepG2 cell apoptosis.Therefore,the date of this study suggest that ROS mediated signal transduction mechanism may provide certain reference significance for L-Selenocystine induced HepG2 cell apoptosis.

Piperazine-Assisted Construction of 2D/3D Wide-Bandgap Perovskite for Realizing High-Efficiency Perovskite/Organic Tandem Solar Cells

Monolithic perovskite/organic tandem solar cells(TsCs)have gained significant attention due to their easy device integration and the potential to surpass the Shockley-Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells.However,the surfaces of wide-bandgap perovskite films are densely populated with defects,leading to severe non-radiative recombination and energy loss.As a consequence,the power conversion efficiency(PCE)of perovskite/organic TSCs lags behind that of other TSC counterparts.To address these issues,we designed a functional ammonium salt,4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazin-1-ium iodide(Pzol),comprising a piperazine iodide and a terminated hydroxyl group,which was applied for post-treating the perovskite surface.Our findings reveal that Pzol reacts with and consumes residual PbX_(2)(X:I or Br)to form a 2D perovskite component,thereby eliminating Pb^(0)defects,while the terminated hydroxyl group in PZOI can also passivate uncoordinated Pb^(2+).Consequently,the shallow/deep-level defect densities of the 2D/3D perovskite film were significantly reduced,leading to an enhanced PCE of single-junction 2D/3D wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells to 18.18% with a reduced energy loss of 40 mev.Importantly,the corresponding perovskite/organic TSCs achieved a remarkable PCE of 24.05% with enhanced operational stability(T_(90)~500h).

Enhanced charge collection of AgNWs-based top electrode to realize high-performance,all-solution processed organic solar cells

All-solution processed organic solar cells are the ultimate aim of printable photovoltaics,but their electrical losses arising from poor contact of top electrodes greatly limit efficiency improvement.To solve the problem,a solution-processed hybrid top electrode was constructed using silver nanowires(AgNWs)as the skeleton and ZnO nanoparticles(ZnO-NPs)as the matrix.When constructing the skeleton,a spin-rinsing treatment was first used to reduce the amount of the residual insulating polyvinylpyrrolidone wrapped around the AgNWs to promote intimate contact among the AgNWs in the skeleton.Then,the ZnO-NPs matrix was deposited onto the AgNWs skeleton,bridging the AgNWs skeleton with the underlayer ZnO-NPs electron transporting layer(ETL).The underlayer ZnO-NPs ETL can also induce the growth of the ZnO-NPs matrix to minimize lattice mismatch,which creates additional transport channels from the ETL to the AgNWs skeleton for charge collection.As a result,the obtained electrode significantly enhances the electrical contact in the device,thus delivering record power conversion efficiencies of 16.04%and 14.54%for rigid and flexible all-solution processed OSCs,respectively.

Deformation-induced martensitic transformation kinetics and correlative micromechanical behavior of medium-Mn transformation-induced plasticity steel

An in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction(HE-XRD) technique was mainly used to investigate the micromechanical behavior of medium-Mn Fe-0.12 C-10.16 Mn-1.87 Al(in wt%) transformation-induced plasticit(TRIP) steel subjected to intercritical annealing at 625℃, 650℃, 675℃ and 700℃ for 1 h. As the intercritical annealing temperature increased, the volume fraction of retained austenite(RA) and ultimate tensilstress(UTS) increased, while the Lüders strain and yield stress(YS) decreased. The incremental workhardening exponent of experimental steel increased with increasing intercritical annealing temperatureThe overall trend of the transformation kinetics of the RA with respect to the true strain followed thsigmoidal shape predicted by the Olson and Cohen(OC) model. Load partitioning occurred among the ferrite, austenite and martensite immediately after entering the yielding stage. Because the stability of thRA decreased with increasing intercritical annealing temperature, the load undertaken by the martensitincreased. The moderate transformation kinetics of the RA and effective load partitioning among constituent phases were found to contribute to a favorable combination of strength and ductility for thimedium-Mn TRIP steel.

Physical and mechanical properties of hot-press sintering ternary CM_2A_8(CaMg_2Al_(16)O_(27))and C_2M_2A_(14)(Ca_2Mg_2Al_(28)O_(46))ceramics

The new ternary CM_2A_8(CaMg_2Al_(16)O_(27))and C_2M_2A_(14)(Ca_2Mg_2Al_(28)O_(46))pure and dense ceramics were first prepared by a hot-press sintering technique,and their physical and mechanical properties were investigated.The purity of obtained CM_2A_8 and C_2M_2A_(14) ceramics reaches 98.1 wt%and 97.5 wt%,respectively.Their microstructure is dense with few observable pores,and their grain size is about a few dozen microns.For their physical properties,the average apparent porosity of CM_2A_8 and C_2M_2A_(14) ceramics is 0.18% and 0.13%,and their average bulk density is 3.66 g/cm^3 and 3.71 g/cm^3,respectively.The relative density of CM_2A_8 ceramic is 98.12%and that of C_2M_2A_(14)ceramic is 98.67%.The thermal expansivity(50–1400℃)of CM_2A_8 and C_2M_2A_(14) ceramics is 9.24×10^(–6)K^(–1) and 8.92×10^(–6)K^(–1),respectively.The thermal conductivity of CM_2A_8 and C_2M_2A_(14) ceramic is 21.32 W/(m·K)and 23.25 W/(m·K)at 25℃and 18.76 W/(m·K)and 19.42 W/(m·K)as temperature rises to 350℃,respectively.In addition,the mechanical properties are also achieved.For CM_2A_8 ceramic,the flexural strength is 248 MPa,the fracture toughness is 2.17 MPa·m^(1/2),and the Vickers hardness is 12.26 GPa.For C_2M_2A_(14) ceramic,the flexural strength is 262 MPa,the fracture toughness is 2.23 MPa·m^(1/2),and the Vickers hardness is 12.95 GPa.

Rice SPL10 positively regulates trichome development through expression of HL6 and auxin-related genes

Trichomes function in plant defenses against biotic and abiotic stresses;examination of glabrous lines,which lack trichomes,has revealed key aspects of trichome development and function.Tests of allelism in 51 glabrous rice(Oryza sativa)accessions collected worldwide identified OsSPL10 and OsWOX3B as regulators of trichome development in rice.Here,we report that OsSPL10 acts as a transcriptional regulator controlling trichome development.Haplotype and transient expression analyses revealed that variation in the approximately 700-bp OsSPL10 promoter region is the primary cause of the glabrous phenotype in the indica cultivar WD-17993.Disruption of OsSPL10 by genome editing decreased leaf trichome density and length in the NIL-HL6 background.Plants with genotype OsSPL10^(WD-17993)/HL6 generated by crossing WD-17993 with NIL-HL6 also had fewer trichomes in the glumes.HAIRY LEAF6(HL6)encodes another transcription factor that regulates trichome initiation and elongation,and OsSPL10 directly binds to the HL6 promoter to regulate its expression.Moreover,the transcript levels of auxin-related genes,such as OsYUCCA5 and OsPIN-FORMED1b,were altered in OsSPL10 overexpression and RNAi transgenic lines.Feeding tests using locusts(Locusta migratoria)demonstrated that non-glandular trichomes affect feeding by this herbivore.Our findings provide a molecular framework for trichome development and an ecological perspective on trichome functions.

Organic-semiconductor-assisted dielectric screening effect for stable and efficient perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cells(pero-SCs)performance is essentially limited by severe non-radiative losses and ion migration.Although numerous strategies have been proposed,challenges remain in the basic understanding of their origins.Here,we report a dielectric-screening-enhancement effect for perovskite defects by using organic semiconductors with finely tuned molecular structures from the atoms level.Our method produced various perovskite films with high dielectric constant values,reduced charge capture regions,suppressed ion migration,and it provides an efficient charge transport pathway for suppressing non-radiative recombination beyond the passivation effect.The resulting pero-SCs showed a promising power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 23.35%with a high open-circuit voltage(1.22 V);and the 1-cm^(2) pero-SCs maintained an excellent PCE(21.93%),showing feasibility for scalable fabrication.The robust operational and thermal stabilities revealed that this method paved a new way to understand the degradation mechanism of pero-SCs,promoting the efficiency,stability and scaled fabrication of the pero-SCs.

Host-Guest Active Layer Enabling Annealing-Free,Nonhalogenated Green Solvent Processing for High-Performance Organic Solar Cells

Recent advances in non-fullerene acceptors(NFAs)like Y6 have pushed the power conversion efficiencies(PCEs)of organic solar cells(OSCs)above 19%.However,the harsh fabrication conditions,such as the use of the highly volatile chloroform(CF)solvent and the thermal annealing process,are not suitable for large-area printing technologies and environmental standards.Here,a series of guest molecules,BT2O,BTO,and BT4O,are designed and synthesized with different numbers of oligo ethylene glycol(OEG)repeating units in side chains.All these guest molecules could tune the crystallization kinetics of the annealing-free host-guest active layers by inducing the self-assembly of Y6 in non-halogenated paraxylene(PX)solution.The increasing number of OEG repeating units in guest molecules could enhance the molecular assembly ability but molecular stacking steric hindrance simultaneously.Therefore,BTO with three OEG repeating units blended with PM6:PM7:Y6 delivers the highest PCE of 17.78%.Our results demonstrate controlling the crystallization kinetics via delicate side-chain engineering of guest molecules is an effective way to achieve efficient OSCs in non-halogenated solution.

Host-Guest Strategy Enabling Nonhalogenated Solvent Processing for High-Performance All-Polymer Hosted Solar Cells

The power conversion efficiencies(PCEs)of all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs),usually processed from low-boiling-point and toxic sol-vents,have reached high values of 18%.However,poor miscibility and uncontrollable crystallinity in polymer blends lead to a nota-ble drop in the PCEs when using green solvents,limiting the practical development of all-PSCs.Herein,a third component(guest)BTO was employed to optimize the miscibility and enhance the crystallinity of PM6/PY2Se-F host film processed from green solvent toluene(TL),which can effectively suppress the excessive aggregation of PY2Se-F and facilitate a nano-scale interpenetrating net-work morphology for exciton dissociation and charge transport.As a result,TL-processed all-polymer hosted solar cells(all-PHSCs)exhibited an impressive PCE of 17.01%.Moreover,the strong molecular interaction between the host and guest molecules also en-hances the thermal stability of the devices.Our host-guest strategy provides a unique approach to developing high-efficiency and stable all-PHSCs processed from green solvents,paving the way for the industrial development of all-PHSCs.

Thermal control magnetic switching dominated by spin reorientation transition in Mn-doped PrFeO_(3) single crystals

Spin reorientation transition (SRT) has attracted substantial attention due to its important role in the ultrafast control of spins. However, the transition temperature is usually too low for its practical applications. Here, we demonstrate the ability to modulate the SRT temperature in PrFe_(1−x)Mn_(x)O_(3) single crystals from 196 K to 317 K across the room temperature by varying the Mn concentration. Interestingly, the Γ_(4) to Γ_(1) spin reorientation of the Mn-doped PrFeO_(3) is distinct from the Γ_(4) to Γ_(2) spin reorientation transition as in the parent material. Because of the coupling between rare-earth ions and transition-metal ions in determining the SRT temperature, the demonstrated control scheme of spin reorientation transition temperature by Mn-doping is expected to be used in temperature control magnetic switching devices and applicable to many other rare-earth orthoferrites.

Biogeography and diversity patterns of antibiotic resistome in the sediments of global lakes

Lakes act as one of the reservoirs and dispersal routes of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs)and pathogenic resistant bacteria in aquatic environments.Previous studies reported the occurrence and distribution of ARGs in lakes worldwide;however,few investigated the biogeography and diversity patterns of antibiotic resistome in the environment.To fill this gap,a large-scale data set of sediment metagenomes was collected from globally distributed lakes and characterized comprehensively using metagenomic assembly-based analysis,aiming to shed light on the biogeography and diversity patterns of ARGs in lake ecosystems from a global perspective.Our analyses showed that abundant and diverse ARGs were found in the global lake sediments,including a set of emerging ARGs such as mcr-type and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae related genes.Most of the identified ARGs were generally associated with the commonly used antibiotics,suggesting the role of increasing antibiotic consumptions on the resistome prevalence.Spatially,the composition and diversity of ARGs varied across geographical distances and exhibited a scale-dependent distancedecay relationship.Notably,the composition of ARGs was largely shaped by bacterial community structure,and their diversities were co-governed by stochastic process(∼48%)and deterministic process(∼52%).Findings provide a valuable insight to better understand ecological mechanisms of ARGs in lake ecosystems and have important implication for the prevention and control of resistome risk.

TRIM-9 functions in the UNC-6/UNC-40 pathway to regulate ventral guidance

TRIpartite Motif （TRIM） family proteins are ring finger domain-containing, multi-domain proteins implicated in many biological processes. Members of the TRIM-9/C-I subfamily of TRIM proteins, including TRIM-9, MIDI and MID2, have neuronal functions and are associated with neurological diseases. To explore whether the functions of C-I TRIM proteins are conserved in invertebrates, we analyzed Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila trim-9 mutants. C. elegans trim-9 mutants exhibit defects in the ventral guidance of hermaphrodite specific neuron （HSN） and the touch neuron AVM. Further genetic analyses indicate that TRIM-9 participates in the UNC-6-UNC-40 attraction pathway. Asymmetric distribution of UNC-40 during HSN development is normal in trim-9 mutants. However, the asymmetric localization of MIG-10, a downstream effector of UNC-40, is abolished in trim-9 mutants. These results suggest that TRIM-9 functions upstream of MIG- 10 in the UNC- 40 pathway. Moreover, we showed that TRIM-9 exhibits E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro and this activity is important for TRIM-9 function in vivo. Additionally, we found that Drosophila trim-9 is required for the midline attraction of a group of sensory neuron axons. Over-expression of the Netrin/UNC-6 receptor Frazzled suppresses the guidance defects in trim-9 mutants. Our study reveals an evolutionarily conserved function of TRIM-9 in the UNC-40/Frazzled-mediated UNC-6/Netrin attraction pathway.

Epidermal growth factor receptor stabilizes programmed death ligand 1 by glycosylation in colorectal cancer with microstatellite instability status

Programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1)is involved in inhibiting of T lymphocyte proliferation,producing cytokine,cytolytic activity,and suppressing of the immune response.Genes with molecular alterations involved in DNA mismatch repair promote cancer initiation and tumor progression.Clinical studies show that colorectal cancer(CRC)patients harboring microsatellite instability(MSI)have a higher anti-programmed cell death protein 1/PD-L1 immunotherapy response ratio compared with microsatellite stable subgroup patients.The underlying mechanism has however remained unclear.Here,we found that compared with microsatellite stable samples,PD-L1 was glycosylated and highly expressed both in MSI CRC cell lines and tissue samples.Specifically,PD-L1 was Nglycosylated at its N35,N192,N200,and N219 sites,and the four glycosylation sites were all responsible for PD-L1 degradation.Additionally,non-glycosylated PD-L1 underwent rapid degradation compared with glycosylated PD-L1 through the 26S proteasome pathway.The faster degradation of the non-glycosylated PD-L1 was ascribed to its binding to glycogen synthase kinase 3b via ubiquitination.This degradation phenotype was,however,not observed for glycosylated PD-L1.Significantly,glycosylated PD-L1 was up-regulated by activated epidermal growth factor receptor in MSI CRC cells.Together,our results indicate that epidermal growth factor receptor stabilized PD-L1 via glycosylation in MSI CRC cells,uncovering a novel role of PD-L1 in MSI CRC immunosuppression and disease progression.The study was approved by the Clinical Ethics Review Committee at the Six Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University,China(Approval No.2019ZSLYEC-005).