Stress-responsive plasma membrane H-ATPases regulate deep rooting in rice.

Agricultural production is severely affected by environmental stresses such as drought, and deep rooting is an important factor enhancing crop drought avoidance. H-ATPases provide a transmembrane proton gradient and are thought to play a crucial role in plant growth and abiotic stress responses. However, their expression under abiotic stress and function on deep rooting is poorly understood in rice.

Tunning valence state of cobalt centers in Cu/Co-CoO for significantly boosting water-gas shift reaction.

Dual active sites with synergistic valence state regulation under oxidizing and reducing conditions are essential for catalytic reactions with step-wise mechanisms to modulate the complex adsorption sites of reactant molecules on the surfaces of heterogeneous catalysts with maximized catalytic performances, but it has been rarely explored. In this work, uniformly dispersed CuCo alloy and CoO nanosheet composite catalysts with dual active sites are constructed, which shows huge boost in activity for catalyzing water-gas shift reaction (WGSR), with a record high reaction rate reaching 204.2 μmol g s at 300 °C for CuCoO amongst the reported Cu-based and Co-based catalysts.

Nonacademic predictors of China medical licensing examination.

Background: National Medical Licensing Examination (NMLE) is the entrance exam for medical practice in China, and its general medical knowledge test (GMKT) evaluates abilities of medical students to comprehensively apply medical knowledge to clinical practice. This study aimed to identify nonacademic predictors of GMKT performance, which would benefit medical schools in designing appropriate strategies and techniques to facilitate the transition from medical students to qualified medical practitioners.

Methods: In 1202 medical students, we conducted the deletion-substitution-addition (DSA) and structural equation model (SEM) analyses to identify nonacademic predictors of GMKT performance from 98 candidate variables including early life events, physical conditions, psychological and personality assessments, cognitive abilities, and socioeconomic conditions.

Comparison of the safety of esophagojejunal overlap and π-shaped anastomosis in totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy.

Background: Globally, totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy is increasingly being accepted by surgeons for the treatment of gastric cancer. Overlap anastomosis and π-shaped anastomosis are the two most commonly used anastomosis methods in total laparoscopic surgery; however, their safety and suitability for the population are still unclear.

Methods: A total of 162 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent total laparoscopic total gastrectomy with overlap or π-shaped anastomosis were retrospectively analyzed.

Effect of anastomotic reinforcement with barded suture on anastomotic leakage prevention following laparoscopic low anterior resection for rectal cancer: a retrospective single-center study.

Background: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a serious complication that may occur following the double stapling technique (DST). The study aims to investigate the efficacy of anastomotic reinforcement using barbed sutures in preventing AL after laparoscopic low anterior resection (LAR) for rectal cancer.

Methods: During the period from November 1, 2018 to November 1, 2023, a total of 725 consecutive patients who had underwent laparoscopic LAR for rectal cancer were enrolled in this study.

An Experimental Study of the Flexural Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Beams Damaged by Explosions Using Piezoelectric Smart Aggregates.

Two identically sized RC beams were fabricated to investigate the effects of explosive loads on the flexural behaviour of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams. One of the beams was subjected to an explosive load to induce post-explosion damage, and subsequently, both beams underwent flexural capacity testing. Integrating piezoelectric smart aggregates (SAas) within the beams facilitated continuous observation of the damage conditions, allowing for the assessment of internal concrete deterioration from explosive impacts to bending failures.

Ensemble learning-based predictor for driver synonymous mutation with sequence representation.

Synonymous mutations, once considered neutral, are now understood to have significant implications for a variety of diseases, particularly cancer. It is indispensable to identify these driver synonymous mutations in human cancers, yet current methods are constrained by data limitations. In this study, we initially investigate the impact of sequence-based features, including DNA shape, physicochemical properties and one-hot encoding of nucleotides, and deep learning-derived features from pre-trained chemical molecule language models based on BERT.

Research on the high precision hydraulic column stress monitoring method.

The hydraulic column is a core component in the coal mine support system, however, the real-time monitoring of the hydraulic column during the service process of the hydraulic support faces challenges. To address these issues, a high-precision stress mapping method of hydraulic column is proposed. The hydraulic column loss function was constructed to guide the data-driven model training, and the cylinder stress mechanism model was established by using the elastic-plastic theory of thick-walled cylinder.

Can environmental regulation improve the industrial ecology efficiency? Evidence from China's environmental protection tax reform.

Improving industrial ecology efficiency (IEE) is the key path to achieve green economic development. This paper calculates IEE of 273 Chinese cities a super slacks-based measurement (Super-SBM) model and examines the impact of environmental protection tax reform (EPTR) on IEE by the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The results show that the effect of EPTR on IEE is significantly positive.

Development of a portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer embedded with a low-temperature adsorption thermal desorption module for enhanced detection of volatile organic compounds.

A portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) is an effective instrument for rapid on-site detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Current instruments typically adsorb samples at ambient temperature, challenging the detection of low-boiling VOCs. In this study, a low-temperature adsorption thermal desorption method is proposed for sample enrichment in a portable GC-MS.

Interplay between disorder and topology in Thouless pumping on a superconducting quantum processor.

Topological phases are robust against weak perturbations, but break down when disorder becomes sufficiently strong. However, moderate disorder can also induce topologically nontrivial phases. Thouless pumping, as a (1+1)D counterpart of the integer quantum Hall effect, is one of the simplest manifestations of topology.

Artificial intelligence and glaucoma: a lucid and comprehensive review.

Glaucoma is a pathologically irreversible eye illness in the realm of ophthalmic diseases. Because it is difficult to detect concealed and non-obvious progressive changes, clinical diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma is extremely challenging. At the same time, screening and monitoring for glaucoma disease progression are crucial.

Superiority of Linear-Array EUS over MRCP in Diagnosing Pancreas Divisum: Evidence from a Multicenter Retrospective Study in Oriental Cohorts.

Background And Aims: Pancreas divisum (PD) is the most common developmental anatomic variant of pancreatic duct. The published data on the accuracy of the detection of pancreas divisum by linear-array endoscopic ultrasound (L-EUS) is limited. The current study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of L-EUS compared with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) for identifying PD.

ACE Loss Drives Renal Cell Carcinoma Growth and Invasion by Modulating AKT-FOXO1.

Purpose: Emerging literature links the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) to the progression of cancers. However, the function of RAAS has not been verified in Clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Methods: ACE expression in ccRCC tissues was determined using RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry staining.

Newborn screening for deafness genes with cord blood-based multicolour melting curve analysis.

Background: The purpose of the research was to examine the prevalence rates of screening for genetics and hearing simultaneously in neonates and provide scientific evidence for the beneficial application of newborn screening in the Southeast China population.

Methods: Between June 2015 and March 2023, 27,843 newborns were enrolled in the study. All participants were screened by otoacoustic emissions at 2 days of age.

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Spatiotemporal Interactions Between Snow Leopards and Ungulate Prey.

Spatiotemporal interactions between predators and prey are central to maintaining sustainable functioning ecosystems and community stability. For wild ungulates and their predators, livestock grazing is an important anthropogenic disturbance causing population declines and modifying their interactions over time and space. However, it is poorly understood how fine-scale grazing affects the spatiotemporal responses of predators, prey, and their interactions.

CRISPR/Cas: An Emerging Toolbox for Engineering Virus Resistance in Plants.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas have been recognized as powerful genome-editing tools in diverse eukaryotic species, including plants, and thus hold great promise for engineering virus resistance in plants. Nevertheless, further attention is required regarding various issues associated with applying new powerful technologies in the field. This mini-review focuses on the recent advances in using CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas13 systems to combat DNA and RNA viruses in plants.

Development a risk prediction nomogram for multidrug-resistant bacterial and fungal infection in gastrointestinal fistula patients during the perioperative period.

Background: This study aims to develop a risk prediction model for multidrug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections in patients with gastrointestinal fistulas during the perioperative period.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Anhui No. 2 Provincial People's Hospital from January 2022 to July 2024.

Hepatic HKDC1 Deletion Alleviates Western Diet-Induced MASH in Mice.

The global prevalence of Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) has been rising sharply, closely mirroring the increasing rates of obesity and metabolic syndrome. MASH exhibits a strong sexual dimorphism where females are affected with more severe forms after menopause. Hexokinase domain-containing protein 1 (HKDC1) has recently been recognized for its role in liver diseases, where its expression is minimal under normal conditions but significantly increases in response to metabolic stressors like obesity and liver injury.

Phenomics-assisted genetic dissection and molecular design of drought resistance in rice.

Dissecting the mechanism of drought resistance (DR) and designing drought-resistant rice varieties are promising strategies to address the challenge of climate change. Here, we selected a typical drought-avoidant (DA) variety, IRAT109, and a drought-tolerant (DT) variety, Hanhui15, as parents to develop a stable recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (F, 1262 lines). The de novo assembled genomes of both parents were released.

Room-Temperature Exciton Polaritons in a Monolayer Molecular Crystal.

Strong coupling between excitons and photons in optical microcavities leads to the formation of exciton polaritons, which maintain both the coherence of light and the interaction of matter. Recently, atomically thin monolayer semiconductors with a large exciton oscillator strength and high exciton binding energy have been widely used for realizing room-temperature exciton polaritons. Here, we demonstrated room-temperature exciton polaritons with a monolayer molecular crystal.

Inverse design of compact nonvolatile reconfigurable silicon photonic devices with phase-change materials.

In the development of silicon photonics, the continued downsizing of photonic integrated circuits will further increase the integration density, which augments the functionality of photonic chips. Compared with the traditional design method, inverse design presents a novel approach for achieving compact photonic devices. However, achieving compact, reconfigurable photonic devices with the inverse design that employs the traditional modulation method exemplified by the thermo-optic effect poses a significant challenge due to the weak modulation capability.

Optimal Frequency of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting for Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Crossover Trials.

Increasing evidence highlights the efficacy of interruptions in prolonged sitting (i.e., activity/sedentary breaks) for improving cardiometabolic health, but precise conclusions and recommendations regarding the optimal interruption frequency remain poorly defined.