Enhancing sweet sorghum emergence and stress resilience in saline-alkaline soils through ABA seed priming: insights into hormonal and metabolic reprogramming.

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench) seedling emergence and growth are significantly impeded by physical soil crusts (PSCs) in saline-alkaline soils. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a potent seed priming agent known for modulating plant physiological and metabolic responses under salinity stress. However, the influence of ABA priming on seedling emergence in PSCs remains unclear.

Aggregatin is a mitochondrial regulator of MAVS activation to drive innate immunity.

Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS) is a key adapter protein required for inducing type I interferons (IFN-Is) and other antiviral effector molecules. The formation of MAVS aggregates on mitochondria is essential for its activation; however, the regulatory mitochondrial factor that mediates the aggregation process is unknown. Our recent work has identified the protein Aggregatin as a critical seeding factor for β-amyloid peptide aggregation.

Tuning Metal-Phthalocyanine 2D Covalent Organic Frameworks for the Nitrogen Reduction Reaction: Cooperativity of Transition Metals and Organic Linkers.

Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D-COFs) exhibit high activity in the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), while the structure-performance relationship toward which remains an unsolved problem, therefore hindering the development of efficient catalysts. In this work, a total of 145 candidate transition metal phthalocyanine (TMPc-DX) materials comprised of 29 transition metals and X-phthalocyanine (X = N, O, F, S, and Cl) are evaluated for their capabilities in the NRR by density functional theory calculations. Our computations showed that metal atoms in TMPc-DN/DF/DCl materials could efficiently activate N molecules by doping with electron-withdrawing groups.

A novel multifunctional fluorescent probe with ESIPT and AIE effects for the detection of Co and HClO.

We developed a novel fluorescent probe featuring excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effects, which displayed dual-channel fluorescence emission. The probe detected both Co and HClO with naked eye under daylight as well as through a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The probe exhibited a low detection limit for Co at 2.

Pertussis epidemiological surveillance and immunization history in children under five years in a megacity in China from 2019 to 2023.

To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and influencing factors of pertussis in children under five years in Chongqing from 2019 to 2023, providing scientific evidence for further prevention and control. The epidemiological characteristics of pertussis cases in children under five years and vaccination history with pertussis-containing vaccines were described, and the influencing factors and cumulative risk of disease onset after vaccination were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. From 2019 to 2023, a total of 4,135 pertussis cases were reported in children under five years in Chongqing, with cases occurring predominantly between April and August.

Clustering analysis of Yue opera character tone trends based on quantum particle swarm optimization for fuzzy C-means.

This study develops an innovative method for analyzing and clustering tonal trends in Chinese Yue Opera to identify different vocal styles accurately. Linear interpolation is applied to process the time series data of vocal melodies, addressing inconsistent feature dimensions. The second-order difference method extracts tonal trend features.

The OnSPN2 from the nipa palm hispid beetle Octodonta nipae is a multipurpose defense tool against proteases from different peptidase families.

Serpins (serine protease inhibitors) constitute a superfamily of proteins with functional diversity and unusual conformational flexibility. In insects, serpins act as multiple inhibitors, by forming inactive acyl-enzyme complexes, in regulating Spätzles activation, phenoloxidases (POs) activity, and other cytokines. In this study, we present the cloning and characterization of Octodonta nipae serpin2 (OnSPN2), a 415 residues protein homologous to Tenebrio molitor 42Dd-like.

Deciphering transcription activity of mammalian early embryos unveils on/off of zygotic genome activation by protein translation/degradation.

Quantification of transcription activities in mammalian preimplantation embryos is challenging due to a huge amount of maternally stored transcripts and paucity of research materials. Here, we investigate genome-wide transcription activities of mouse and human preimplantation embryos by quantifying elongating RNA polymerase II. Two transcriptional waves are identified in early mouse embryos, with summits at the 2-cell and 8-cell stages.

Ferroelectric/Electric-Double-Layer-Modulated Synaptic Thin Film Transistors toward an Artificial Tactile Perception System.

Tactile sensation and recognition in the human brain are indispensable for interaction between the human body and the surrounding environment. It is quite significant for intelligent robots to simulate human perception and decision-making functions in a more human-like way to perform complex tasks. A combination of tactile piezoelectric sensors with neuromorphic transistors provides an alternative way to achieve perception and cognition functions for intelligent robots in human-machine interaction scenarios.

Nonconventional Full-Color Luminescent Polyurethanes: Luminescence Mechanism at the Molecular Orbital Level.

The study of structure-activity relationships is a top priority in the development of nontraditional luminescent materials. In this work, nonconjugated polyurethanes (PUs) with full-color emission (red, green, and blue) are easily obtained by control of the diol monomer structure and the polymerization conditions. Selected diol monomers introduced single, double, or triple bond repeating units into the main chain of the PUs, in order to understand how unsaturated bonds and H-bonds affect their luminescence from a molecular orbital viewpoint.

Symmetrical and asymmetrical surface structure expansions of silver nanoclusters with atomic precision.

Controlling symmetrical or asymmetrical growth has allowed a series of novel nanomaterials with prominent physicochemical properties to be produced. However, precise and continuous size growth based on a preserved template has long been a challenging pursuit, yet little has been achieved in terms of manipulation at the atomic level. Here, a correlated silver cluster series has been established, enabling atomically precise manipulation of symmetrical and asymmetrical surface structure expansions of metal nanoclusters.

Discovery of anticancer peptides from natural and generated sequences using deep learning.

Anticancer peptides (ACPs) demonstrate significant potential in clinical cancer treatment due to their ability to selectively target and kill cancer cells. In recent years, numerous artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have been developed. However, many predictive methods lack sufficient wet lab validation, thereby constraining the progress of models and impeding the discovery of novel ACPs.

Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduced postoperative pain than three-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with large gallstone, a retrospective study.

Aim: To compare the short-term outcomes between SILC and TILC depending on gallstone size.

Material And Methods: Data from 114 patients with gallstones who underwent cholecystectomy hospitalized in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between June 2022 and October 2023 were collected. The gallstone diameter, the operation time, estimated blood loss, post-operative pain, complications post-operation, and length of hospital stay were all collected and examined.

Microenvironmental G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-mediated glutamine metabolic coupling between cancer-associated fibroblasts and triple-negative breast cancer cells governs tumour progression.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer, known for its lack of effective treatments and unfavorable prognosis. The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), a novel estrogen receptor, is linked to increased malignancy in various cancers. However, its involvement in the metabolic regulation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), a key component in the tumour microenvironment, remains largely unexplored.

The impacts of noise and air pollution on breast cancer risk in European and East Asian populations: Insights from genetic evidence.

Objectives: Previous studies have reported associations of noise and air pollution with breast cancer (BC) risk, but the causality remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the effects of noise and air pollution on BC from a genetic perspective.

Study Design: Genetic association study.

Pharmacodynamics (PD), Pharmacokinetics (PK) and PK-PD Modeling of NRF2 Activating Dietary Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention and in Health.

Purpose Of Review: Dietary phytochemicals, bioactive compounds derived from plants, have gained increasing attention for their potential role in cancer prevention. Among these, NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) activating dietary phytochemicals such as curcumin, sulforaphane, ursolic acid, and cyanidin have demonstrated significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, making them promising agents in chemoprevention. This review examines the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of these dietary phytochemicals, with a focus on their NRF2-mediated effects in cancer prevention.

Free vibration of nanobeams with surface and dynamic flexoelectric effects.

In this paper, the free vibration of piezoelectric nanobeams considering static flexoelectric, dynamic flexoelectric, and surface effects is studied. Based on the theories of the Timoshenko beam and Euler-Bernoulli beam, a theoretical model of flexoelectric nanobeams is established and the governing equations and boundary conditions of this model are derived using the variational principle. Then, the analytical solution of the frequency equation is obtained by using the Navier method.

Transcriptomic era of cancers in females: new epigenetic perspectives and therapeutic prospects.

In the era of transcriptomics, the role of epigenetics in the study of cancers in females has gained increasing recognition. This article explores the impact of epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA, on cancers in females, including breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers (1). Our findings suggest that these epigenetic markers not only influence tumor onset, progression, and metastasis but also present novel targets for therapeutic intervention.

Research trends, hotspots and future directions of tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer: a comprehensive informatics analysis and visualization study.

Many studies have reported the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) in cancer, but the research progress of TLSs in cancer has not been systematically analyzed. Therefore, we analyzed the global scientific knowledge in the field using informatics methods. The results showed that TLSs in cancer have received increasing attention since the 21st century, with an annual publication growth rate of 27.