The integration of transcriptomic and transgenic analyses reveals the involvement of the SA response pathway in the defense of chrysanthemum against the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria sp.

Chrysanthemum morifolium cv.‘Huaihuang’has ornamental,edible,medicinal,and tea product uses.However,its field growth,yield,and quality are negatively affected by black spot disease caused by Alternaria sp.(Strain:HQJH10092301;GenBank accession number:KF688111).In this study,we transcriptionally and transgenically characterized a new cultivar,‘Huaiju 2#’(Henan Traditional Chinese Medicine Plant Cultivar identification number:2016002),which was bred from‘Huaihuang’and shows resistance to Alternaria sp.Numerous‘Huaiju 2#’plants were inoculated with Alternaria sp.for three or five days.Metabolic analysis showed increases in both salicylic acid(SA)and jasmonic acid(JA)in infected plants compared to the control.Protein activity analysis also revealed a significant increase in defense enzyme activities in infected plants.RNA-Seq of plants infected for 3 or 5 days produced a total of 58.6 GB of clean reads.Among these reads,16,550 and 13,559 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified in Cm_3 dpi(sample from 3 days post-inoculation labeled as Cm_3 dpi)and Cm_5 dpi(sample from 5 days post-inoculation labeled as Cm_5 dpi),respectively,compared with their controls(Cm_0 d:a mixture samples from 0 d(before inoculation)and those treated with sterile distilled water at 3 dpi and 5 dpi).Gene annotation and cluster analysis of the DEGs revealed a variety of defense responses to Alternaria sp.infection,which were characterized by increases in resistance(R)proteins and the reactive oxygen species(ROS),Ca2+,mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK),and JA signaling pathways.In particular,SA signaling was highly responsive to Alternaria sp.infection.The qPCR analysis of 12 DEG candidates supported their differential expression characterized by using the RNA-Seq data.One candidate was CmNPR1(nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related gene 1),an important positive regulator of SA in systemic acquired resistance(SAR).Overexpression of CmNPR1 in‘Huaiju 2#’increased the resistance of transgenic plants to black spot.These findings indicate that the SA response pathway is likely involved in the defense of‘Huaiju 2#’against Alternaria sp.pathogens.

Improved methodology for efficient establishment of the myocardial ischemia-reperfusion model in pigs through the median thoracic incision

To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of establishing porcine ischemia-reperfusion models by ligating the left anterior descending(LAD)coronary artery,we first randomly divided 16 male Bama pigs into a sham group and a model group.After anesthesia,we separated the arteries and veins.Subsequently,we rapidly located the LAD coronary artery at the beginning of its first diagonal branch through a mid-chest incision.Then,we loosened and released the ligation line after five minutes of pre-occlusion.Finally,we ligated the LAD coronary artery in situ two minutes later and loosened the ligature 60 min after ischemia.Compared with the sham group,electrocardiogram showed multiple continuous lead ST-segment elevations,and ultrasound cardiogram showed significantly lower ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening at one hour and seven days post-operation in the model group.Twenty-four hours after the operation,cardiac troponin T and creatine kinase-MB isoenzyme levels significantly increased in the model group,compared with the sham group.Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed the presence of many inflammatory cells infiltrating the interstitium of the myocardium in the model group but not in the sham group.Masson staining revealed a significant increase in infarct size in the ischemia/reperfusion group.All eight pigs in the model group recovered with normal sinus heart rates,and the survival rate was 100%.In conclusion,the method can provide an accurate and stable large animal model for preclinical research on ischemia/reperfusion with a high success rate and homogeneity of the myocardial infarction area.

Simulation of Vertical Solar Power Plants with Different Turbine Blades

The performances of turbine blades have a significant impact on the energy conversion efficiency of vertical solar power plants.In the present study,such a relationship is assessed by considering two kinds of airfoil blades,designed by using the Wilson theory.In particular,numerical simulations are conducted using the SST K−ω model and assuming a wind speed of 3–6 m/s and seven or eight blades.The two airfoils are the NACA63121(with a larger chord length)and the AMES63212;It is shown that the torsion angle of the former is smaller,and its wind drag ratio is larger;furthermore,the resistance is increased by about 66.3%on average.Within the scope of the study,the results show that the NACA63212 airfoil is better than the AMES63212 airfoil in terms of power,with an average improvement of about 2.8%.The simulation results have a certain guiding significance for selecting turbine blade airfoils and improving turbine efficiency.

An efficient unstructured WENO method for supersonic reactive flows

An efficient high-order numerical method for supersonic reactive flows is proposed in this article.The reactive source term and convection term are solved separately by splitting scheme.In the reaction step,an adaptive time-step method is presented,which can improve the efficiency greatly.In the convection step,a third-order accurate weighted essentially non-oscillatory（WENO）method is adopted to reconstruct the solution in the unstructured grids.Numerical results show that our new method can capture the correct propagation speed of the detonation wave exactly even in coarse grids,while high order accuracy can be achieved in the smooth region.In addition,the proposed adaptive splitting method can reduce the computational cost greatly compared with the traditional splitting method.

Applications of cold atmospheric plasmas(CAPs)in agriculture:a brief review and the novel development of a radio-frequency CAP jet generator for plant mutation

Cold atmospheric plasmas(CAPs)have shown great applicability in agriculture.Many kinds of CAP sources have been studied in agricultural applications to promote plant growth and cure plant diseases.We briefly review the state-of-the-art stimulating effects of atmospheric-pressure dielectricbarrier-discharge(AP-DBD)plasmas,after the direct or indirect treatment of plants for growth promotion and disease control.We then discuss the special demands on the characteristics of the CAP sources for their applications in plant mutation breeding.An atmospheric and room temperature plasma(ARTP)jet generator with a large plasma irradiation area,a high enough concentration of chemically reactive species and a low gas temperature is designed for direct plant mutagenesis.Experimental measurements of the electrical,thermal and optical features of the ARTP generator are conducted.Then,an ARTP-P(ARTP for plant mutagenesis)mutation breeding machine is developed,and a typical case of plant mutation breeding by the ARTP-P mutation machine is presented using Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.seeds.Physical and agricultural experiments show that the newly-developed ARTP-P mutation breeding machine with a large irradiation area can generate uniform CAP jets with high concentrations of chemically reactive species and mild gas temperatures,and have signiflcant mutagenesis effects on the Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.seeds.The ARTP-P mutation breeding machine may provide a platform for systematic studies on mutation mechanisms and results for various plant seeds under different operating conditions in future research.

Optimization Scheme of Large Passenger Flow in Huoying Station,Line 13 of Beijing Subway System

This paper focuses on the distribution of passenger flow in Huoying Station,Line 13 of Beijing subway system.The transformation measures taken by Line 13 since operation are firstly summarized.Then the authors elaborate the facilities and equipment of this station,especially the node layout and passenger flow field.An optimization scheme is proposed to rapidly distribute the passenger flow in Huoying Station by adjusting the operation time of the escalator in the direction of Xizhimen.The authors adopt Queuing theory and Anylogic simulation software to simulate the original and the optimized schemes of Huoying Station to distribute the passenger flow.The results of the simulation indicate that the optimized scheme could effectively alleviate the traffic congestion in the hall of Huoying Station,and the pedestrian density in other places of the hall is lowered;passengers could move freely in the hall and no new congestion points would form.The rationality of the scheme is thus proved.

Investigating the reason for high FF from ternary organic solar cells

Organic solar cells(OSCs)have attracted huge attention because of their unique merits[1−3].In last few years,thanks to the design of new materials and device engineering,the power conversion efficiencies(PCEs)of OSCs have surpassed 18%[4−8].The PM6:Y6 cells are efficient binary cells,offering high PCEs over 16%[9−11].The high performance originates from the efficient free charge generation and the ground state dipole field at the donor-acceptor interface that promotes the exciton dissociation[12].

Direct Observation of Singletππ*and nπ*Equilibrium State in 2-Amino-1,3,5-triazine Solution

1,3,5-Triazine molecules represent a class of molecules that may have been prebiotic information carriers in a primordial soup in early Earth and their excited state dynamics has received attention in recent years.In our previous study,one component with lifetime longer than100 ps was discovered in 2-amino-1,3,5-trainzine(2-AT),but its nature has not been revealed.In this study,excited state dynamics of 2-AT is studied in different solvents by using femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption and fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy.Interestingly,an equilibrium state consisting of the brightππ^(*)and dark nπ^(*)states in 2-AT is directly observed in aqueous solution and its dynamics is solvent sensitive.The whole picture of the excited state deactivation mechanism of 2-AT is proposed based on our spectroscopy results.

Pressure effect in the Kondo semimetal CeRu4Sn6 with nontrivial topology

Kondo semimetal CeRu4Sn6 is attracting renewed attention due to the theoretically predicted nontrivial topology in its electronic band structure. We report hydrostatic and chemical pressure effects on the transport properties of single- and poly-crystalline samples. The electrical resistivity p （T） is gradually enhanced by applying pressure over a wide temperature range from room temperature down to 25 mK. Two thermal activation gaps estimated from high- and low-temperature windows are found to increase with pressure. A flat p（T） observed at the lowest temperatures below 300 mK appears to be robust against both pressure and field. This feature as well as the increase of the energy gaps calls for more intensive investigations with respect to electron correlations and band topology.

Effect of Wenxin granule on Bcl-2/Bax/Caspase apoptosis pathway gene expression in rats with myocardial infarction

Objective:To explore the cardioprotective mechanism of Wenxin Granules regulating the expression of apoptosis-related genes in cardiomyocytes.Methods:A rat model of myocardial infarction was established and randomly divided into model group,Wenxin granule low-dose group,Wenxin granule high-dose group,metoprolol group and sham operation group.the left ventricular end systole anterior wall thickness(LVAWs),end systole inner diameter(LVIDs),end systole posterior wall thickness(LVPWs),end-diastolic anterior wall thickness(LVAWd),end-diastolic inner diameter(LVIDd),end-diastolic posterior wall thickness(LVPWd)and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)were detected by echocardiography in each group after 2 weeks of treatment.Hematoxylin eosin(HE)staining was used to observe the changes in the cardiac structure of rats in each group.Real-time PCR(Real-time PCR)was used to detect the relative expression of mammalian B-cell lymphoma-2(BCL-2),BCL-2 related X protein(BAX),Caspase-9(Caspase-9),and Caspase-3(Caspase-3)mRNA.TUNEL staining was used to detect changes in the apoptotic rate of rat cardiomyocytes in each group.Results:Compared with the sham operation group,the LVAWs,LVPWs,LVPWd and LVEF of the model group were significantly reduced(P<0.05,P<0.01),and LVIDs and LVIDd were significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Severe pathological ischemia injury of heart tissue.The relative expression of BCL-2 mRNA and the ratio of BCL-2/BAX in the model group were significantly reduced(P<0.01),while the relative expression of BAX,Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 mRNA was significantly increased(P<0.01).The apoptosis rate was significantly increased(P<0.01).In the low-dose and high-dose groups of Wenxin Granules and the Metoprolol group,LVAWs,LVPWs,LVPW d,and LVEF of rats in each administration group increased significantly(P<0.05,P<0.01),LVIDs,LVIDd was significantly reduced(P<0.05,P<0.01),the pathological damage of the heart tissue was improved,the expression of BCL-2 mRNA and the ratio of BCL-2/BAX were significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),BAX,The expression of Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 mRNA was significantly reduced(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the apoptotic rate of myocardial cells was significantly reduced(P<0.01).Conclusion:Wenxin granule can play a cardioprotective role by regulating the gene expression of BCL-2/BAX/Caspase apoptosis pathway.

HVAC Design Strategies for Municipal Waste Incineration Power Plants

In recent years,relevant government departments have achieved the goal of reduction and harmless application through the development and implementation of municipal waste incineration power plants,in order to advocate ecological and environmental protection.At present,in order to further achieve the goal of sustainable development,municipal waste incineration power plants have actively responded to the national call and requirements as well as made overall arrangements for the energy-saving design and optimization design of their internal system.Therefore,with the concept of sustainable development,this paper studies and analyzes the problems of the HVAC design as well as suggests related strategies for municipal waste incineration power plants in order to provide relevant reference.

Development of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 2022:Regenerating“Groot”to heal the world

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(allo-HSCT),the pioneer and mainstream form of cellular therapy,represents the only curative or preferred treatment for various malignant and nonmalignant disorders or facilitates organ transplantation by reconstituting the new blood and immune system of a patient with donor’s regenerative HSCs,similar to the comics character“Groot,”who has an incredible regeneration ability.The annual cases of allo-HSCT in China's Mainland increased from 10042 in 2020 to 12744 in 2021,suggesting that the negative impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic might be eliminated,while Europe and North American registries reported 18796 and 8326 cases in 2020,respectively.1 In addition,cutting-edge progress in other cellular therapies,including chimeric antigen receptor T(CAR-T)cells,mesenchymal stromal cells,and specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL)cells,promotes the combination of allo-HSCT with these therapies to compose the new chapter“Strong Together,Guardians of Life”to save more patients worldwide.

Expanded clinical-grade NK cells exhibit stronger effects than primary NK cells against HCMV infection

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation remains a common complication and leads to high mortality in patients who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Early natural killer (NK) cell reconstitution may protect against the development of human CMV (HCMV) infection post-HSCT. Our previous data showed that ex vivo mbIL21/4-1BBL-expanded NK cells exhibited high cytotoxicity against leukemia cells. Nevertheless, whether expanded NK cells have stronger anti-HCMV function is unknown. Herein, we compared the anti-HCMV functions of ex vivo expanded NK cells and primary NK cells. Expanded NK cells showed higher expression of activating receptors, chemokine receptors and adhesion molecules;stronger cytotoxicity against HCMV-infected fibroblasts;and better inhibition of HCMV propagation in vitro than primary NK cells. In HCMV-infected humanized mice, expanded NK cell infusion resulted in higher NK cell persistence and more effective tissue HCMV elimination than primary NK cell infusion. A clinical cohort of 20 post-HSCT patients who underwent adoptive NK cell infusion had a significantly lower cumulative incidence of HCMV infection (HR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.32–0.93, p = 0.042) and refractory HCMV infection (HR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.18–0.65, p = 0.009) than controls and better NK cell reconstitution on day 30 post NK cell infusion. In conclusion, expanded NK cells exhibit stronger effects than primary NK cells against HCMV infection both in vivo and in vitro.

Glucocorticoid and glycolysis inhibitors cooperatively abrogate acute graft-versus-host disease

Although glucorticosteroids(GCs)are the standard first-line therapy for acute graft-versus-host disease(a Gv HD),nearly 50%of a Gv HD patients have no response to GCs.The role of T cell metabolism in murine a Gv HD was recently reported.However,whether GCs and metabolism regulators could cooperatively suppress T cell alloreactivity and ameliorate a Gv HD remains to be elucidated.Increased glycolysis,characterized by elevated 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3(PFKFB3),and higher rates of glucose consumption and lactate production were found in Tcells from a Gv HD patients.Genetic upregulation of PFKFB3 induced T cell proliferation and differentiation into proinflammatory cells.In a humanized mouse model,PFKFB3-overexpressing or PFKFB3-silenced T cells aggravated or prevented a Gv HD,respectively.Importantly,our integrated data from patient samples in vitro,in a humanized xenogeneic murine model of a Gv HD and graft-versus-leukaemia(GVL)demonstrate that GCs combined with a glycolysis inhibitor could cooperatively reduce the alloreactivity of T cells and ameliorate a Gv HD without loss of GVL effects.Together,the current study indicated that glycolysis is critical for T cell activation and induction of human a Gv HD.Therefore,the regulation of glycolysis offers a potential pathogenesis-oriented therapeutic strategy for a Gv HD patients.GCs combined with glycolysis inhibitors promises to be a novel first-line combination therapy for a Gv HD patients.

Prospective study of light dark matter search with a newly proposed DarkSHINE experiment

Dark photons have been well motivated as strong candidates for dark force carriers and light dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range.Compared with collider experiments,fixed-target experiments provide a complementary approach to searching for dark photons,particularly in the lower mass range.We have studied the physics potential of the electron-on-target experiment based on the Shanghai SHINE facility,which provides 10 MHz single electron beam at 8 GeV energy.This analysis focuses on dark photons being produced via electron and nucleon interaction and then decays to dark matter candidates,which escape detection as missing momentum in the detector.This experiment takes advantage of using missing momentum to enhance signal versus background separation power.In this study,signal samples as a function of dark photon mass and an inclusive background sample with 2.5 billion events are simulated with GEANT4.For better background estimates,major rare background processes have also been simulated.This paper presents the experiment and detector design,signal and background simulations,analysis strategy,and the prospective study of the experiment sensitivity.With 9×10^(14) electron-on-target events(about three years running),this experiment is expected to rule out most of the sensitive regions predicted by popular dark photon models.

A perfect mismatch: haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation overtakes a bend

Matching for the major histocompatibility complex(MHC)—and more specifically,the human leukocyte antigen(HLA)system—has been the gold standard in transplantation for decades.Selecting an HLA-matched donor is the preferred and straightforward choice for most immunologists,hematologists,and organ transplant specialists.

The RppC-AvrRppC NLR-effector interaction mediates the resistance to southern corn rust in maize

Southern corn rust(SCR),caused by the fungal pathogen Puccinia polysora,is a major threat to maize pro-duction worldwide.Efficient breeding and deployment of resistant hybrids are key to achieving durable control of SCR.Here,we report the molecular cloning and characterization of RppC,which encodes an NLR-type immune receptor and is responsible for a major SCR resistance quantitative trait locus.Further-more,we identified the corresponding avirulence effector,AvrRppC,which is secreted by P.polysora and triggers RppC-mediated resistance.Allelic variation of AvrRppC directly determines the effectiveness of RppC-mediated resistance,indicating that monitoring of AvrRppC variants in the field can guide the rational deployment of RppC-containing hybrids in maize production.Currently,RppC is the most frequently deployed SCR resistance gene in China,and a better understanding of its mode of action is crit-ical for extending its durability.

Everyone has a donor:contribution of the Chinese experience to global practice of haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donors for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have long been scarce in China. Haploidentical (haplo) donors are available for the vast majority of patients, but toxicity has limited this approach. Three new approaches for haplo-HSCT originated from Italy, China, and USA in 1990 and have been developed to world-renowned system up to now. The Chinese approach have been greatly improved by implementing new individualized conditioning regimens, donor selection based on non-HLA systems, risk-directed strategies for graft-versus-host disease and relapse, and infection management. Haplo-HSCT has exhibited similar efficacy to HLA-matched HSCT and has gradually become the predominant donor source and the first alternative donor choice for allo-HSCT in China. Registry-based analyses and multicenter studies adhering to international standards facilitated the transformation of the unique Chinese experience into an inspiration for the refinement of global practice.This review will focus on how the new era in which "everyone has a donor" will become a reality in China.

Gut microbiome alterations and its link to corticosteroid resistance in immune thrombocytopenia

Quantitative metagenomic studies have linked the gut microbiota to autoimmune disorders.Here,we performed deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples from 99 immune thrombocytopenia(ITP)patients and 52 healthy controls.Dysbiosis in the gut microbiome of ITP was detected phylogenetically and functionally,and classifier based on species markers distinguished individuals with ITP from healthy controls.In particular,the abundance of Ruminococcus gnavus,Bifidobacterium longum and Akkermansia muciniphila was markedly increased in treatment-na?ve ITP patients,and the alterations of microbial species were correlated with clinical indices.Functionally,the secondary bile acid biosynthesis and flagellar assembly were depleted in the gut microbiota of ITP,which may contribute to the onset of ITP by affecting the immune system.Furthermore,we found that corticosteroid treatment affected the gut microbiome of ITP.Compared with corticosteroid-sensitive ITP patients,we identified that the corticosteroid-resistant ITP patients displayed a distinct gut microbiome,which was different from that of the treatment-na?ve ITP patients.Together,we provided support for the critical role of gut microbiota in the development of ITP and established a foundation for further research characterizing gut microbiota in relation to corticosteroid resistance of ITP.

Arsenic trioxide alleviates acute graft-versus-host disease by modulating macrophage polarization

This study aimed to explore macrophage polarization in acute graft-versus-host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and investigated if arsenic trioxide(ATO) could correct this imbalance. In the colon of GVHD mice, we found that the number of F4/80+iNOS+ cells as well as the expression intensity of TNF-α and IL-1β was greater in the GVHD group than in the BM group, whereas the number of F4/80+CD206+ cells and the expression intensity of IL-10 and TGF-β was greater in the BM group than in the GVHD group. We investigated the effect of ATO on GVHD mice, and found that ATO treatment clearly improved the survival of the mice and reduced the severity of GVHD. In addition, ATO reduced the number of F4/80+iNOS+ cells, and increased the number of F4/80+CD206+ cells in the colon of GVHD mice. Furthermore, ATO sharply decreased CD86 and CD80 expression, and increased CD163 and CD206 expression in macrophages induced from aGVHD patients. Therefore,ATO can modulate the M1 and M2 phenotype in GVHD mice or in macrophages from aGVHD patients. Our data suggest that macrophage polarization is involved in the pathogenesis of aGVHD, and ATO treatment modulates macrophage polarization toward an M2 phenotype.