Low Level of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Is Associated with Human Sperm Autophagy and Vitality

Low sperm motility is one of the main causes of male infertility. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR, an anion channel protein) is related to the progressive motility of sperm. CFTR disruptor CFTRinh-172 or forskolin (FSK) in this study were used to treat human sperm separately, and the rates of sperm autophagy and progressive motility, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ATP concentration, and the expression levels of related factors were detected to explore their relationship. It was showed that sperms treated with CFTRinh-172 or FSK reduced the levels of cAMP, CFTR and PKA, but increased sperm autophagy rate, expression levels of AMPK and LC3B. However, reactive oxygen species content had no significant difference. It was indicated that low level of CFTR performed with cAMP and its downstream effectors such as PKA and AMPK to regulate mitochondrial structure and function, leading to increased autophagy rate and reduced vitality of sperm.

Mechanism of Photothermal Energy on the Growth and Yield of Rice under Water Level Regulation

The flooding caused by heavy rainfall in rice irrigation area and the drought caused by the drop of groundwater level are the research focus in the field of irrigation and drainage.Based on the comparative experiment and farmland water level control technology,this paper studied the average soil temperature under different soil layers(TM),the daily temperature change(TDC),the photosynthetic accumulation of single leaf and canopy in rice,and response of photothermal energy to rice root characteristics and growth factors in the paddy field under drought conditions.The results showed that the peak soil temperature under drought treatment was basically synchronous with the conventional irrigation,and the it was delayed by 2–6 h under flooding treatment compared to the drought treatment.Under different water gradients,the temperature decreased according to T_(L)>T_(CK)>T_(H)(L,H and CK represented water flooding,drought and control treatments),and the TDC was opposite.In addition to milky stage,the daily photosynthetic(Pn)accumulation of single leaf and canopy in the flooding and drought treated paddy fields were lower than conventional irrigation,and had a negative impact on leaf area index(LAI)and yield(YR),but did not form fatal damage.The root characteristic factors,RL(root length),RW(root weight),R-CR(root-canopy ratio)were promoted with drought,and YR under light drought was slightly higher than that under heavy drought.There was a strong positive correlation between TM and R-CR in all rice growth stages,while TDC-5 was negatively correlated with effective panicle number,TDC and R-CR in 20 cm soil layer were positively correlated.The correlation between daily Pn accumulation and YR was low,and the correlation between Pn and YR factors was negative or weak positive or negative.The total Pn was positively correlated with yield factors,and the correlation coefficient was higher than that of daily Pn.

Realizing high-performance organic solar cells through precise control of HOMO driving force based on ternary alloy strategy

A good deal of studies have proven that effective exciton dissociation and fast hole transport can operate efficiently in non-fullerene organic photovoltaics(OPVs)despite nearly zero driving force.Even so,whether such a phenomenon is universal and how small the driving force can realize the best photovoltaic performance still require a thorough understanding.Herein,despite the zero driving force based on PM6:F8IC system,a maximum short-circuit current(J_(sc))of 23.0 mA/cm^(2) and high power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 12.2%can still be achieved.Due to the continuously adjustable energy levels can be realized in organic semiconducting alloys including F8IC:IT-4F and F8IC:Y6,the suitable third components can play the role of energy level regulator.Therefore,the HOMO energy level offset(DEHOMO(D A))from zero to 0.07 and 0.06 eV is accomplished in the optimized IT-4F and Y6 ternary devices.Consequently,both ternary devices achieved substantially increased PCE of 13.8%and Jsc of 24.4 and 25.2 mA/cm^(2),respectively.Besides,pseudo-planar heterojunction(PPHJ)devices based on alloyed acceptors through sequential spin-coating method further improve the photovoltaic performance.Our work puts forward the concept of energy level regulator and prove that the ternary alloy strategy has unique advantages and huge research potential in continuously adjusting the driving force.