Targeted mechanical forces enhance the effects of tumor immunotherapy by regulating immune cells in the tumor microenvironment

Mechanical forces in the tumor microenvironment(TME)are associated with tumor growth,proliferation,and drug resistance.Strong mechanical forces in tumors alter the metabolism and behavior of cancer cells,thus promoting tumor progression and metastasis.Mechanical signals are transformed into biochemical signals,which activate tumorigenic signaling pathways through mechanical transduction.Cancer immunotherapy has recently made exciting progress,ushering in a new era of“chemo-free”treatments.However,immunotherapy has not achieved satisfactory results in a variety of tumors,because of the complex tumor microenvironment.Herein,we discuss the effects of mechanical forces on the tumor immune microenvironment and highlight emerging therapeutic strategies for targeting mechanical forces in immunotherapy.

The in-situ Ti alloying of aluminum alloys and its application in A356 alloys

This research has investigated the in-situ Ti alloying of aluminum alloys and its application to A356 alloys and wheels through the evaluation of microstructure and mechanical properties. The results showed that stable titanium content can be obtained by adding a small quantity of TiO2 into electrolyte of pure aluminum. Under this approach, a greater than 95% absorptivity of titanium was achieved, and the microstructure of the specimens was changed to fine equiaxed grains from coarse columnar grains in the pure aluminum. In comparison with the tradition A356 alloys and wheels, the corresponding microstructure in the testing A356 alloys and wheels was finer. Although the tensile strength was similar between the testing and the tradition A356 alloys and wheels, the ductility of the former (testing) is superior to that of the later (tradition), leading to an excellent combination of strength and ductility from the testing alloys and wheels.

An amplification-selection model for quantified rhizosphere microbiota assembly

National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences;Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences;Center for Multi-Omics Research, Collaborative Innovation Center of Crop Stress Biology, Henan Province, Institute of Plant Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Department of Biology, Henan University.

温度对OPC装置在线检测颗粒物的影响

以球形SiO2颗粒为研究对象搭建高温测试实验台,用光学粒子计数器(OPC)测定了25800℃下的颗粒数及其累计分布,并进行扫描电镜(SEM)和X射线衍射(XRD)分析,研究了高温对颗粒物在线检测结果的影响。结果表明,随加热温度升高,SiO2颗粒的粒径先变小后增大再变小,但颗粒物形状未发生变化;XRD衍射峰强度整体变弱,2θ≈25.5o处的衍射峰宽化并移动,晶胞体积先增大后变小。根据SiO2晶胞体积与晶体介电常数的关系可排除加热使颗粒物粒径变化,温度升高导致SiO2颗粒晶体内部结构变化、晶体折射率变化,使测量结果存在23个粒径通道的误差,影响测量精度。

Mycorrhizal symbiosis modulates the rhizosphere microbiota to promote rhizobia–legume symbiosis

Plants establish symbioses with mutualistic fungi,such as arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)fungi,and bacteria,such as rhizobia,to exchange key nutrients and thrive.Plants and symbionts have coevolved and represent vital components of terrestrial ecosystems.Plants employ an ancestral AM signaling pathway to establish intracellular symbioses,including the legume–rhizobia symbiosis,in their roots.Nevertheless,the relationship between the AM and rhizobial symbioses in native soil is poorly understood.Here,we examined how these distinct symbioses affect root-associated bacterial communities in Medicago truncatula by performing quantitative microbiota profiling(QMP)of 16S rRNA genes.We found that M.truncatula mutants that cannot establish AM or rhizobia symbiosis have an altered microbial load(quantitative abundance)in the rhizosphere and roots,and in particular that AM symbiosis is required to assemble a normal quantitative root-associated microbiota in native soil.Moreover,quantitative microbial co-abundance network analyses revealed that AM symbiosis affects Rhizobiales hubs among plant microbiota and benefits the plant holobiont.Through QMP of rhizobial rpoB and AM fungal SSU rRNA genes,we revealed a new layer of interaction whereby AM symbiosis promotes rhizobia accumulation in the rhizosphere of M.truncatula.We further showed that AM symbiosis-conditioned microbial communities within the M.truncatula rhizosphere could promote nodulation in different legume plants in native soil.Given that the AM and rhizobial symbioses are critical for crop growth,our findings might inform strategies to improve agricultural management.Moreover,our work sheds light on the co-evolution of these intracellular symbioses during plant adaptation to native soil conditions.

Sub-nanometer ultrathin epitaxy of AlGaN and its application in efficient doping

Solving the doping asymmetry issue in wide gap semiconductors is a key dificulty and long-standing challenge for device applications.Here,a desorption-tailoring strategy is proposed to juggle the carrier concentration and transport.Specific to the p-doping issue in Al-rich AlGaN,self-assembled p-AlGaN superlattices with an average Al composition of over 50%are prepared by adopting this approach.The hole concentration as high as 8.1×10^(18)cm^(-3)is thus realized at room temperature,which is attributed to the signifcant reduction of effective Mg activation energy to 17.5 meV through modulating the activating path,as well as the highlighted Mg surface-incorporation by an intentional interruption for desorption.More importantly,benefting from the constant ultrathin barrier thickness of only three monolayers via this approach,vertical miniband transport of holes is verifed in the p-AlGaN superlattices,greatly satisfying the demand of hole injection in device application.280 nm deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes are then fabricated as a demo with the desorption-tailored Al-rich p-AlGaN superlattices,which exhibit a great improvement of the carrier injection efficiency and light extraction efficiency,thus leading to a 55.7%increase of the light output power.This study provides a solution for p-type doping of Al-rich AlGaN,and also sheds light on solving the doping asymmetry issue in general for wide-gap semiconductors.

Biochar affects methylmercury production and bioaccumulation in paddy soils: Insights from soil-derived dissolved organic matter

Biochar has been used increasingly as a soil additive to control mercury(Hg) pollution in paddy rice fields. As the most active component of soil organic matter, soil dissolved organic matter(DOM) plays a vital role in the environmental fate of contaminants. However, there are very few studies to determine the impact of biochar on the Hg cycle in rice paddies using insights from DOM. This study used original and modified biochar to investigate their effect on DOM dynamics and their potential impact on methylmercury(MeHg) production and bioaccumulation in rice plants. Porewater DOM was collected to analyze the variations in soil-derived DOM in paddy soils. The results showed that the addition of biochar, whether in original or modified form, significantly reduced the bioaccumulation of MeHg in rice plants, especially in hulls and grains( p < 0.05). However, MeHg production in soils was only inhibited by the modified biochar. Biochar addition induced a significant increase in DOM’s aromaticity and molecular weight( p < 0.05), which decreased Hg bioavailability. Furthermore, enhanced microbial activity was also observed in DOM( p < 0.05), further increasing MeHg production in the soil. Thus, the effect of biochar on the fate of Hg cycle involves competition between the two different roles of DOM. This study identified a specific mechanism by which biochar affects Hg behavior in rice paddy soil and contributes to understanding the more general influence of biochar in agriculture and contaminant remediation.

Phosphorylation of MtRopGEF2 by LYK3 mediates MtROP activity to regulate rhizobial infection in Medicago truncatula

The formation of nitrogen-fixing no dules on legume roots requires the coordination of infection by rhizobia at the root epidermis with the initiation of cell divisions in the root cortex.During infection,rhizobia attach to the tip of elongating root hairs which then curl to entrap the rhizobia.However,the mechanism of root hair deformation and curling in response to symbiotic signals is still elusive.Here,we found that small GTPases(MtRac1/MtROP9 and its homologs)are required for root hair development and rhizobial infection in Medicago truncatula.Our results show that the Nod factor receptor LYK3 phosphorylates the guanine nucleotide exchange factor MtRopGEF2 at S73 which is critical for the polar growth of root hairs.In turn,phosphorylated MtRopGEF2 can activate MtRac1.Activated MtRac1 was found to localize at the tips of root hairs and to strongly interact with LYK3 and NFP.Taken together,our results support the hypothesis that MtRac1,LYK3,and NFP form a polarly localized receptor complex that regulates root hair deformation during rhizobial infection.