Preventing brain aging by the artificial enforcement of the unfolded protein response:future directions

As the life expectancy of the world’s population increases,age-related diseases are emerging as one of the greatest problems facing modern society.The onset of dementia and neurodegenerative diseases is strictly dependent on aging as a major risk factor and has a profound impact on various aspects of the lives of individuals and their families.

Fusion: It’s Time to Color outside the Lines

There has been some good news, and some bad news in the controlled fusion community recently. The good news is that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has recently produced a burning plasma. It succeeded on several of its shots where ~1.5 - 2 megajoules from its laser (National Ignition Facility, or NIF) has generated ~1.3 - 3 megajoules of fusion products. The highest ratio of fusion energy to laser energy it achieved, defined as its Q, was 1.5 at the time of this writing. While LLNL is sponsored by nuclear stockpile stewardship, this author sees a likely path from their result to fusion for energy for the world, a path using a very different laser and a very different target configuration. The bad news is that the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) has continued to stumble on more and more delays and cost overruns, as its capital cost has mushroomed from ~$5 billion to ~ $25 B. This paper argues that the American fusion effort, for energy for the civilian economy, should switch its emphasis not only from magnetic fusion to inertial fusion but should also take much more seriously fusion breeding. Over the next few decades, the world might well be setting up more and more thermal nuclear reactors, and these might need fuel which only fusion breeders can supply. In other words, fusion should begin to color outside the lines.

ENTIRE SOLUTIONS OF HIGHER ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS WITH ENTIRE COEFFICIENTS HAVING THE SAME ORDER

In this paper,we consider entire solutions of higher order homogeneous differential equations with the entire coefficients having the same order,and prove that the entire solutions are of infinite lower order.The properties on the radial distribution,the limit direction of the Julia set and the existence of a Baker wandering domain of the entire solutions are also discussed.

Ascertaining the influences of auxiliary qubits on the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering and its directions

Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen(EPR) steering is an example of nontrivial quantum nonlocality and characteristic in the non-classical world.The directivity(or asymmetry) is a fascinating trait of EPR steering,and it is different from other quantum nonlocalities.Here,we consider the strategy in which two atoms compose a two-qubit X state,and the two atoms are owned by Alice and Bob,respectively.The atom of Alice suffers from a reservoir,and the atom of Bob couples with a bit flip channel.The influences of auxiliary qubits on EPR steering and its directions are revealed by means of the entropy uncertainty relation.The results indicate that EPR steering declines with growing time t when adding fewer auxiliary qubits.The EPR steering behaves as damped oscillation when introducing more auxiliary qubits in the strong coupling regime.In the weak coupling regime,the EPR steering monotonously decreases as t increases when coupling auxiliary qubits.The increases in auxiliary qubits are responsible for the fact that the steerability from Alice to Bob(or from Bob to Alice) can be more effectively revealed.Notably,the introductions of more auxiliary qubits can change the situation that steerability from Alice to Bob is certain to a situation in which steerability from Bob to Alice is certain.

Stability assessment of tree ring growth of Pinus armandii Franch in response to climate change based on slope directions at the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains,China

Global warming will affect growth strategies and how trees will adapt.To compare the response of tree radial growth to climate warming in different slope directions,samples of Pinus armandii Franch were collected and treering chronologies developed on northern and western slopes from the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains.Correlation analyses showed that two chronologies were mainly limited by temperatures in the previous June–August and the combination of temperatures and moisture in the current May–July.The difference of the climate response to slopes was small but not negligible.Radial growth of the LBL01 site on the northern slope was affected by the combined maximum and minimum temperatures,while that of the LBL02 site was affected by maximum temperatures.With regards to moisture,radial growth of the trees on the north slope was influenced by the relative humidity in the current May–July,while on the western slope,it was affected by the relative humidity in the previous June–August,the current May–July and the precipitation in the current May–July.With the change in climate,the effects of the main limiting factors on growth on different slopes were visible to a certain extent,but the differences in response of trees on different slopes gradually decreased,which might be caused by factors such as different slope directions and the change in diurnal temperature range.These results may provide information for forest protection and ecological construction in this region,and a scientific reference for future climate reconstruction.

Stability assessment of tree ring growth of Pinus armandii Franch in response to climate change based on slope directions at the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains,China

Global warming will affect growth strategies and how trees will adapt.To compare the response of tree radial growth to climate warming in different slope directions,samples of Pinus armandii Franch were collected and tree-ring chronologies developed on northern and western slopes from the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains.Correlation analyses showed that two chronologies were mainly limited by temperatures in the previous June-August and the com-bination of temperatures and moisture in the current May-July.The difference of the climate response to slopes was small but not negligible.Radial growth of the LBLO1 site on the northern slope was affected by the combined maximum and minimum temperatures,while that of the LBLO2 site was affected by maximum temperatures.With regards to moisture,radial growth of the trees on the north slope was influenced by the relative humidity in the current May-July,while on the western slope,it was affected by the relative humidity in the previous June-August,the current May-July and the precipitation in the current May-July.With the change in climate,the effects of the main limiting factors on growth on different slopes were visible to a certain extent,but the differences in response of trees on different slopes gradually decreased,which might be caused by factors such as different slope directions and the change in diurnal temperature range.These results may provide information for forest protection and ecological construction in this region,and a scientific reference for future climate reconstruction.

Overexpression of the peroxidase gene ZmPRX1 increases maize seedling drought tolerance by promoting root development and lignification

Drought is a main abiotic stress factor hindering plant growth,development,and crop productivity.Therefore,it is crucial to understand the mechanisms by which plants cope with drought stress.Here,the function of the maize peroxidase gene ZmPRX1 in drought stress tolerance was investigated by measurement of its expression in response to drought treatment both in a ZmPRX1 overexpression line and a mutant line.The higher root lignin accumulation and seedling survival rate of the overexpression line than that of the wild type or mutant support a role for ZmPRX1 in maize drought tolerance by regulating root development and lignification.Additionally,yeast one-hybrid,Dule luciferase and ChIP-qPCR assays showed that ZmPRX1 is negatively regulated by a nuclear-localized ZmWRKY86 transcription factor.The gene could potentially be used for breeding of drought-tolerant cultivars.

Estimation of the anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity through 3D fracture networks using the directional geological entropy

With an extension of the geological entropy concept in porous media,the approach called directional entrogram is applied to link hydraulic behavior to the anisotropy of the 3D fracture networks.A metric called directional entropic scale is used to measure the anisotropy of spatial order in different directions.Compared with the traditional connectivity indexes based on the statistics of fracture geometry,the directional entropic scale is capable to quantify the anisotropy of connectivity and hydraulic conductivity in heterogeneous 3D fracture networks.According to the numerical analysis of directional entrogram and fluid flow in a number of the 3D fracture networks,the hydraulic conductivities and entropic scales in different directions both increase with spatial order(i.e.,trace length decreasing and spacing increasing)and are independent of the dip angle.As a result,the nonlinear correlation between the hydraulic conductivities and entropic scales from different directions can be unified as quadratic polynomial function,which can shed light on the anisotropic effect of spatial order and global entropy on the heterogeneous hydraulic behaviors.

PCDH17 restricts dendritic spine morphogenesis by regulating ROCK2-dependent control of the actin cytoskeleton,modulating emotional behavior

Proper regulation of synapse formation and elimination is critical for establishing mature neuronal circuits and maintaining brain function.Synaptic abnormalities,such as defects in the density and morphology of postsynaptic dendritic spines,underlie the pathology of various neuropsychiatric disorders.Protocadherin 17(PCDH17)is associated with major mood disorders,including bipolar disorder and depression.However,the molecular mechanisms by which PCDH17 regulates spine number,morphology,and behavior remain elusive.In this study,we found that PCDH17 functions at postsynaptic sites,restricting the number and size of dendritic spines in excitatory neurons.Selective overexpression of PCDH17 in the ventral hippocampal CA1 results in spine loss and anxiety-and depression-like behaviors in mice.Mechanistically,PCDH17 interacts with actin-relevant proteins and regulates actin filament(F-actin)organization.Specifically,PCDH17 binds to ROCK2,increasing its expression and subsequently enhancing the activity of downstream targets such as LIMK1 and the phosphorylation of cofilin serine-3(Ser3).Inhibition of ROCK2 activity with belumosudil(KD025)ameliorates the defective F-actin organization and spine structure induced by PCDH17 overexpression,suggesting that ROCK2 mediates the effects of PCDH17 on F-actin content and spine development.Hence,these findings reveal a novel mechanism by which PCDH17 regulates synapse development and behavior,providing pathological insights into the neurobiological basis of mood disorders.

The environment,especially the minimum temperature,affects summer maize grain yield by regulating ear differentiation and grain development

Ear differentiation,grain development and their interaction with factors in the growing environment,such as temperature,solar radiation and precipitation,greatly influence grain number and grain weight,and ultimately affect summer maize production.In this study,field experiments involving different sowing dates were conducted over three years to evaluate the effects of temperature factors,average solar radiation and total precipitation on the growth process,ear differentiation,fertilization characteristics,grain filling and yield of summer maize varieties with different growth durations.Four hybrids were evaluated in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain(HHHP),China from 2018 to 2020 with five different sowing dates.The results showed that the grain yield formation of summer maize was strongly impacted by the environment from the silking(R1)to milking(R3)stage.Average minimum temperature(AT_(min))was the key environmental factor that determined yield.Reductions in the length of the growing season(r=–0.556,P<0.01)and the total floret number on ear(R^(2)=0.200,P<0.001)were found when AT_(min) was elevated from the emerging(VE)to R1 stage.Both grain-filling rate(R^(2)=0.520,P<0.001)and the floret abortion rate on ear(R^(2)=0.437,P<0.001)showed quadratic relationships with AT_(min) from the R1 to physiological maturity(R6)stage,while the number of days after the R1 stage(r=–0.756,P<0.01)was negatively correlated with AT_(min).An increase in AT_(min) was beneficial for the promotion of yield when it did not exceeded a certain level(above 23°C during the R1–R3 stage and 20–21°C during the R1-R6 stage).Enhanced solar radiation and precipitation during R1–R6 increased the grain-filling rate(R^(2)=0.562,P<0.001 and R^(2)=0.229,P<0.05,respectively).Compared with short-season hybrids,full-season hybrids showed much greater suitability for a critical environment.The coordinated regulation of AT_(min),ear differentiation and grain development at the pre-and post-silking stages improved maize yield by increasing total floret number and grain-filling rate,and by reducing the floret abortion rate on ear.

Improved observation of colonized roots reveals the regulation of arbuscule development and senescence by drought stress in the arbuscular mycorrhizae of citrus

Citrus is the typical mycorrhizal fruit tree species establishing symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. However, arbuscule development and senescence in colonized citrus roots, especially in response to drought stress, remain unclear, which is mainly due to the difficulty in clearing and staining lignified roots with the conventional method. Here, we improved the observation of colonized roots of citrus plants with the sectioning method, which enabled the clear observation of AM fungal structures. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of one week of drought stress on arbuscule development and senescence with the sectioning method. Microscopy observations indicated that drought stress significantly decreased mycorrhizal colonization (F%and M%) although it did not affect plant growth performance. Fluorescence probes (WGA 488 and/or Nile red) revealed that drought stress inhibited arbuscule development by increasing the percentage of arbuscules at the early stage and decreasing the percentages of arbuscules at the midterm and mature stages. Meanwhile, drought stress accelerated arbuscule senescence, which was characterized by the increased accumulation of neutral lipids. Overall, the sectioning method developed in this study enables the in-depth investigation of arbuscule status, and drought stress can inhibit arbuscule development but accelerate arbuscule senescence in the colonized roots of citrus plants. This study paves the way to elaborately dissecting the arbuscule dynamics in the roots of fruit tree species in response to diverse abiotic stresses.

Early embryonic failure caused by a novel mutation in the TUBB8 gene:A case report

BACKGROUND This study aimed to explore the relationship between gene mutations and early embryonic development arrest and to provide more possibilities for the diagnosis and treatment of repeated implantation failure.CASE SUMMARY Here,we collected and described the clinical data of a patient with early embryonic development stagnation after repeated in vitro fertilization attempts for primary infertility at the Department Reproductive Center of Zaozhuang Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital.We also detected the whole-exon gene of the patient's spouse and parents,and conducted bioinformatics analysis to determine the pathogenesis of the gene.CONCLUSION A novel mutant of the TUBB8 gene[c.602G>T(p.C201F)]was identified,and this mutant provided new data on the genotype-phenotype relationships of related diseases.

Towards Lessening Learners’Aversive Emotions and Promoting Their Mental Health:Developing and Validating a Measurement of English Speaking Demotivation in the Chinese EFL Context

While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.

Challenges to establishing and maintaining kidney transplantation programs in developing countries:What are the coping strategies?

Kidney transplantation(KT)is the optimal form of renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal diseases.However,this health service is not available to all patients,especially in developing countries.The deceased donor KT programs are mostly absent,and the living donor KT centers are scarce.Single-center studies presenting experiences from developing countries usually report a variety of challenges.This review addresses these challenges and the opposing strategies by reviewing the single-center experiences of developing countries.The financial challenges hamper the infrastructural and material availability,coverage of transplant costs,and qualification of medical personnel.The sociocultural challenges influence organ donation,equity of beneficence,and regular follow-up work.Low interests and motives for transplantation may result from high medicolegal responsibilities in KT practice,intense potential psychosocial burdens,complex qualification protocols,and low productivity or compensation for KT practice.Low medical literacy about KT advantages is prevalent among clinicians,patients,and the public.The inefficient organizational and regulatory oversight is translated into inefficient healthcare systems,absent national KT programs and registries,uncoordinated job descriptions and qualification protocols,uncoordinated on-site investigations with regulatory constraints,and the prevalence of commercial KT practices.These challenges resulted in noticeable differences between KT services in developed and developing countries.The coping strategies can be summarized in two main mechanisms:The first mechanism is maximizing the available resources by increasing the rates of living kidney donation,promoting the expertise of medical personnel,reducing material consumption,and supporting the establishment and maintenance of KT programs.The latter warrants the expansion of the public sector and the elimination of non-ethical KT practices.The second mechanism is recruiting external resources,including financial,experience,and training agreements.

Unleashing the Potential of Unidirectional Mechanical Materials: Breakthroughs and Promising Applications

The emergence of mechanically one-way materials presents an exciting opportunity for materials science and engineering. These substances exhibit unique nonreciprocal mechanical responses, enabling them to selectively channel mechanical energy and facilitate directed sound propagation, controlled mass transport, and concentration of mechanical energy amidst random motion. This article explores the fundamentals of mechanically one-way materials, their potential applications across various industries, and the economic and environmental considerations related to their production and use.

Research on the Influence of the Digital Economy on Transforming Consumption Behavior Among Residents

Drawing on the essence of Marxist consumer economy theory,this paper argues that the innovations of digital technology can effectively facilitate the integration of economies of scale,economies of scope,and long-tail economies.Through careful analysis of the practical case of Xiaomi’s business ecosystem,this paper highlights the notion that data serve as both a key production factor and a critical consumption carrier within the context of digital consumption.We thoroughly investigated the influence of the digital economy on transforming consumption behavior among residents by analyzing a range of typical business cases and the latest data that triggered this transformation.Based on the analysis,this paper argues that such transformation can lead to the platform agglomeration effect,the inclusive diffusion effect,and the push-pull effect by highlighting the specific ways in which the digital economy disrupts the consumption-production model and contributes to the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries.Additionally,this paper demonstrates how the digital economy can expand and promote emerging business forms,providing insights into the ways in which digital innovation is reshaping the contemporary economic landscape.This study intends to provide several policy suggestions that can expand domestic demand,promote consumption,drive the high-quality and integrated development of China’s digital and real economy,and position China as a strong cyber and consumer nation by using digitalized consumption as a starting point.

Analysis of the Architectural Design Talent Development Direction by Investigating the Employment Status of Architectural Design Graduates

Based on a comprehensive investigation of the employment status of architectural design graduates at a certain university,this paper analyzes the correctness of the talent development direction of architectural design in hopes of pro-viding a valuable reference for further teaching reform and strengthening school-enterprise collaboration.The research re-sults show that architectural design is the main choice of graduates,accounting for as high as 63%,and traditional architec-tural design skills continue to be in demand in the market.Employment in fields such as interior design,BIM design,and green architecture is also included.The distribution of job positions for graduates is mainly in the areas of scheme design assistants and construction drawing design,requiring software operation,communication,scheme design,and construction drawing skills.This paper also proposes talent development measures such as optimizing the curriculum,strengthening faculty construction,and deepening school-enterprise collaboration,in order to improve the quality of talent development and the competitiveness of graduates.

Consideration on Developing the Enhancement Fishery in China

The enhancement fishery is one of five pillar industries of aquatic products industry. Cultivation and development of enhancement fishery have certain conditions and advantages in China. From the concept of the enhancement fishery,this paper introduced four approaches for developing the enhancement fishery. It pointed out major problems in the development of enhancement fishery,including small construction scale of protection zone and unreasonable distribution,substandard releasing technology,not obvious enhancement effect,unclear development orientation,and difficult operation of implementation standard. Finally,it came up with recommendations for developing enhancement fishery,improving legal protection system,increasing input support effort,enhancing construction of scientific research institutions,strengthening supervision and management functions,establishing scientific evaluation system,and promoting comprehensive development of enhancement fishery.

Nutrition impacts of non-solid cooking fuel adoption on under-five children in developing countries

This paper examines the nutrition impacts of using non-solid cooking fuel on under-five children in developing countries.We draw on data from more than 1.12 million children in 62 developing countries from the Demographic and Health Surveys(DHS).Results from both fixed effects(FE)and instrumental variable(IV)estimates show that using non-solid cooking fuel significantly improves the nutrition outcomes of under-five children.Compared with their peers from households mainly using solid fuel,children from households mainly using non-solid fuel exhibit a lower probability of experiencing stunting(by 5.9 percentage points)and being underweight(by 1.2 percentage points).Our further investigation provides evidence for several underlying mechanisms,such as improved indoor air quality,induced reduction in children’s respiratory symptoms,benefits on maternal health,and reduction in maternal time spent on fuel collection or cooking.Heterogenous analyses suggest that the nutrition benefits of using non-solid cooking fuel are more prominent among boys,children above three years old,and those from households of lower socioeconomic status,rural areas,and Southeast Asia.