ERF5.1 modulates carotenoid accumulation by interacting with CCD4.1 in Lycium

Carotenoids are important natural pigments and have medical and health functions for humans.Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4(CCD4)and ethylene responsive factor(ERF)participate in carotenoid metabolism,but their roles in Lycium have not been discovered.Here,we annotated LbCCDs from the Lycium reference genome and found that LbCCD4.1 expression was significantly correlated with the carotenoid metabolites during Lycium five fruit developmental stages.Over-expression of LbCCD4.1 in NQ’s leaves resulted in a series of significantly lower contents of carotenoid metabolites,includingβ-carotene andβ-cryptoxanthin.Moreover,LbERF5.1,a transcription factor belonging to the ERF family that was located in the nucleus,was isolated.Significant reductions in the carotenoids,especially lutein,violaxanthin and their derivatives,were observed in over-expressing ERF5.1 transgenic NQ’s leaves.Over-expression or virus-induced gene silencing of LbERF5.1 in NQ’s leaves induced a consistent up-or down-expression,respectively,of LbCCD4.1.Furthermore,yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that ERF5.1 interacted with the promoter of CCD4.1 to increase its expression,and LbERF5.1 could bind to any one of the three predicted binding sites in the promoter of LbCCD4.1.A transcriptome analysis of LbERF5.1 and LbCCD4.1 over-expressed lines showed similar global transcript expression,and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase,phytoene synthase,lycopeneδ-cyclase cytochrome,cytochrome P450-type monooxygenase 97A,cytochrome P450-type monooxygenase 97C,and zeaxanthin epoxidase in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway were differentially expressed.In summary,we uncovered a novel molecular mechanism of carotenoid accumulation that involved an interaction between ERF5.1 and CCD4.1,which may be used to enhance carotenoid in Lycium.

The effect of the configuration of a single electrode corona discharge on its acoustic characteristics

A new sparker system based on pulsed spark discharge with a single electrode has already been utilized for oceanic seismic exploration. However, the electro-acoustic energy efficiency of this system is lower than that of arc discharge based systems. A simple electrode structure was investigated in order to improve the electro-acoustic energy efficiency of the spark discharge. Experiments were carried out on an experimental setup with discharge in water driven by a pulsed power source. The voltage-current waveform, acoustic signal and bubble oscillation were recorded when the relative position of the electrode varied. The electro-acoustic energy , efficiency was also calculated. The load voltage had a saltation for the invaginated electrode tip, namely an obvious voltage remnant. The more the electrode tip was invaginated, the larger the pressure peaks and first period became. The results show that electrode recessing into the insulating layer is a simple and effective way to improve the electro-acoustic energy efficiency from 2% to about 4%.

End-on x-ray backlighting experiments for axial diagnostics of wire-array Z-pinch plasma on PPG-1

An X-pinch axial backlighting system has been designed to quantitatively measure the density distribution of wirearray Z-pinch plasmas. End-on backlighting experiments were carried out on a 200 kA, 100 ns pulsed-power generator（PPG-1） at the Tsinghua University. Compared with side-on backlighting, end-on measurements provide an axial view of the evolution of Z-pinch plasmas. Early stages of 2-, 4-, and 8-wire Z-pinch plasmas were observed via point-projection backlighting radiography with a relatively high success rate. The density distribution of Z-pinch plasma on the r–θ plane was obtained directly from the images with the help of step wedges, and the inward radial velocity was calculated. The ablation rates obtained by X-pinch backlighting experiments are compared in detail with those calculated by the rocket model and the results show consistency.

Higher ambient temperatures may worsen obstructive sleep apnea:A nationwide smartwatch-based analysis of 6.2 million person-days

Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)is a serious type of sleep disorder that can lead to cardiometabolic and neurocognitive diseases.We utilized smart device-based photoplethysmography technology to collect sleep data from the Chinese population from 2019 to 2022.Distributed lag nonlinear models combined with a generalized nonlinear model or a linear mixed effects model were used to investigate the shortterm associations between daily temperature and indicators of OSA severity.We included a total of 6,232,056 d of sleep monitoring data from 51,842 participants with moderate to severe risk of OSA from 313 Chinese cities.The relationships between ambient temperature and OSA exacerbation,apneahypopnea index(AHI),and minimum oxygen saturation(MinSpO_(2))were almost linear and present only on the same day.Higher temperatures were associated with a greater risk of OSA exacerbation,with an 8.4%(95%confidence interval(CI):7.6%–9.3%)increase per 10℃increase in temperature.A 10℃increase in daily temperature corresponded to an AHI increase of 0.70 events/h(95%CI:0.65–0.76)and a MinSpO_(2)decrease of 0.18%(95%CI:0.16%–0.19%).Exposure to elevated temperatures during the night can also lead to adverse effects.The effects of higher temperatures on OSA severity were stronger among men,participants with a body mass index24 kg/m2,those aged 45 years and older,individuals with a history of hypertension and diabetes,and during the cold season.This large-scale,nationwide,longitudinal study provides robust evidence suggesting that higher ambient temperatures may immediately worsen OSA.

Air pollution may increase the sleep apnea severity:A nationwide analysis of smart device-based monitoring

Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)can lead to sleep deprivation,accidents,and cardiovascular diseases.However,research on the short-term effects of air pollutants on OSA severity is limited and inconsistent.We conducted a novel case time series analysis using a nationwide dataset among Huawei smart device users to assess the association between air pollution and OSA severity in a population at moderate-to-severe risk of OSA.Fixed-effects regression models were used to assess the associations between air pollution and the risk of OSA exacerbation,apnea-hypopnea index(AH),and oxygen saturation.A total of 51,842 participants who were at moder-ate-tosevere risk of OSA(mean age[SD]:45.4[11.0],95.5%male)were included,with 6,232,056 person-days of monitoring.The as sociations of fine particulate matter,nitrogen dioxide,carbon monoxide,and sulfur dioxide with OSA severity could occur during the sleep period,and last for 2 days.An increase of 1 interquartile range in the moving average concentrations of air pollution during the sleep period and the 2 previous days was associated with a 1.14%-4.31%increase in the risk of OSA exacerbation,an increase in AHI by 0.05-0.17 events/h,and a decrease in oxygen saturation(%)by 0.003-0.014.The exposure-response curves were almost linear.The associations between air pollutants and OSA were consistently stronger in participants aged 45 years or older.By virtue of the smart device-based technology,this largescale,nationwide,longitudinal study provides compelling evidence that short-term exposure to air pollution may worsen sleep apnea.Our findings highlight the significance of ongoing efforts to improve air quality in mitigating OSA severity and the relevant disease burden in an aging era.

Noniterative spatially partially coherent diffractive imaging using pinhole array mask

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a noniterative diffractive imaging method for reconstructing the complex-valued transmission function of an object illuminated by spatially partially coherent light from the far-field diffraction pattern.Our method is based on a pinhole array mask,which is specially designed such that the correlation function in the mask plane can be obtained directly by inverse Fourier transforming the diffraction pattern.Compared to the traditional iterative diffractive imaging methods using spatially partially coherent illumination,our method is noniterative and robust to the degradation of the spatial coherence of the illumination.In addition to diffractive imaging,the proposed method can also be applied to spatial coherence property characterization,e.g.,free-space optical communication and optical coherence singularity measurement.