Machine learning prediction of stalk lignin content using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in large scale maize germplasm.

Lignin has been recognized as a major factor contributing to lignocellulosic recalcitrance in biofuel production and attracted attentions as a high-value product in the biorefinery field. As the traditional wet chemical methods for detecting lignin content are labor-intensive, time-consuming and environment-toxic, it is an urgent need to develop high-throughput and environment-friendly techniques for large-scale crop germplasms screening. In this study, we conducted a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) assay on 150 maize germplasms with a diverse lignin composition to build predictive models for lignin content in maize stalk.

A dynamic regulome of shoot-apical-meristem-related homeobox transcription factors modulates plant architecture in maize.

Background: The shoot apical meristem (SAM), from which all above-ground tissues of plants are derived, is critical to plant morphology and development. In maize (Zea mays), loss-of-function mutant studies have identified several SAM-related genes, most encoding homeobox transcription factors (TFs), located upstream of hierarchical networks of hundreds of genes.

Results: Here, we collect 46 transcriptome and 16 translatome datasets across 62 different tissues or stages from the maize inbred line B73.

Facile Exfoliation of Few-Layer Sn-Based Nanosheets for Self-Powered Photo-Electrochemical and All-Optical Modulation Applications.

Few-layer tin (Sn)-based nanosheets (NSs) with a thickness of ≈2.5 nm are successfully prepared using a modified liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) method. Here the first exploration of photo-electrochemical (PEC) and nonlinear properties of Sn NSs is presented.

The complex transcriptional regulation of heat stress response in maize.

As one of the most important food and feed crops worldwide, maize suffers much more tremendous damages under heat stress compared to other plants, which seriously inhibits plant growth and reduces productivity. To mitigate the heat-induced damages and adapt to high temperature environment, plants have evolved a series of molecular mechanisms to sense, respond and adapt high temperatures and heat stress. In this review, we summarized recent advances in molecular regulations underlying high temperature sensing, heat stress response and memory in maize, especially focusing on several important pathways and signals in high temperature sensing, and the complex transcriptional regulation of ZmHSFs (Heat Shock Factors) in heat stress response.

Individual differences of white matter characteristic along the anterior insula-based fiber tract circuit for pain empathy in healthy women and women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Pain empathy, defined as the ability of one person to understand another person's pain, shows large individual variations. The anterior insula is the core region of the pain empathy network. However, the relationship between white matter (WM) properties of the fiber tracts connecting the anterior insula with other cortical regions and an individual's ability to modulate pain empathy remains largely unclear.

Vectorial holography over a multimode fiber.

Vectorial holography through a strongly scattering medium can facilitate various applications in optics and photonics. However, the realization of vectorial holography with arbitrary distribution of optical intensity is still limited because of experimental noise during the calibration of vectorial transmission matrix (TM) and reconstruction noise during the retrieval of input wavefront for a given holographic target. Herein, we propose and experimentally demonstrate the vectorial holography with arbitrary distribution of optical intensity over a multimode fiber (MMF) using the Tikhonov regularization.

Advancing Sensitivity in Guided-Wave Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor through Integration of 2D BlueP/MoS Hybrid Layers.

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signal, generated from the Kretschmann configuration, has been developed as an effective detection technology in chemical and biological sensors. The sensitivity of SPR signals to changes in the surrounding media makes it a valuable tool, as even a slight variation in refractive index can cause a significant change in SPR signals, such as phase, intensity, and resonance angle. However, the detection of ultralow changes in refractive index, which occur in chemical reactions or biological actions, remains a challenge for conventional SPR sensors due to their limited sensitivity.

Ovarian Tumor Domain-Containing 7B Attenuates Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy by Inhibiting Ubiquitination and Degradation of Krüppel-Like Factor 4.

Background: Cardiac hypertrophy (CH) is a well-established risk factor for many cardiovascular diseases and a primary cause of mortality and morbidity among older adults. Currently, no pharmacological interventions have been specifically tailored to treat CH. OTUD7B (ovarian tumor domain-containing 7B) is a member of the ovarian tumor-related protease (OTU) family that regulates many important cell signaling pathways.

An Ultrasensitive SPR biosensor for RNA detection based on robust GeP nanosheets.

Ultrasensitive and rapid detection of biomarkers is among the upmost priorities in promoting healthcare advancements. Improved sensitivity of photonic sensors based on two-dimensional (2D) materials have brought exciting prospects for achieving real-time and label-free biosensing at dilute target concentrations. Here, we report a high-sensitivity surface plasmon resonance (SPR) RNA sensor using metallic 2D GeP nanosheets as the sensing material.

Endothelial cell-released extracellular vesicles trigger pyroptosis and vascular inflammation to induce atherosclerosis through the delivery of HIF1A-AS2.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) possess great potential in the modulation of cardiovascular diseases. Our current work intended to assay the clinical significance of endothelial cell (EC)-derived EVs in atherosclerosis (AS). Expression of HIF1A-AS2, miR-455-5p, and ESRRG in plasma from AS patients and mice and EVs from ox-LDL-treated ECs was measured.

TRIM-containing 44 aggravates cardiac hypertrophy via TLR4/NOX4-induced ferroptosis.

TRIM-containing 44 (TRIM44) is a promoter of multiple cancers. However, its role in cardiac hypertrophy has not been elucidated. This study explored the role of TRIM44 on pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy in mice.

Polarization-independent and ultra-sensitive biosensor with a one-dimensional topological photonic crystal.

Optical biosensor, which perceptively captures the variety of refractive index (RI) of the surrounding environment, has great potential applications in detecting property changes and types of analytes. However, the disequilibrium of light-matter interaction in different polarizations lead to the polarization-dependence and low sensitivity. Here, we propose a polarization-independent and ultrasensitive biosensor by introducing a one-dimensional topological photonic crystal (1D TPhC), where two N-period 1D photonic crystals (PhC1 and PhC2) with different topological invariants are designed for compressing the interaction region of the optical fields, and enhancing the interaction between the light and analyte.

Retraction: LncRNA NEXN-AS1 attenuates proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells through sponging miR-33a/b.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1039/C9RA06282C.].

E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF5 attenuates pathological cardiac hypertrophy through STING.

Ring-finger protein 5 (RNF5) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase which is expressed in a variety of human tissues. RNF5 is involved in the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation, and innate immunity and plays an important role in the occurrence and development of various tumors. However, the role of RNF5 in cardiac hypertrophy has not been reported.

A cost-effective tsCUT&Tag method for profiling transcription factor binding landscape.

Knowledge of the transcription factor binding landscape (TFBL) is necessary to analyze gene regulatory networks for important agronomic traits. However, a low-cost and high-throughput in vivo chromatin profiling method is still lacking in plants. Here, we developed a transient and simplified cleavage under targets and tagmentation (tsCUT&Tag) that combines transient expression of transcription factor proteins in protoplasts with a simplified CUT&Tag without nucleus extraction.

Ferroptosis Inhibitory Aromatic Abietane Diterpenoids from and Structural Revision of Two 3,4-Epoxy Group-Containing Abietanes.

Two new 3,4-epoxy group-containing abietane diterpenoids ( and ), together with five known diterpenoids (-), were isolated from . Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data analysis, NMR calculations, and X-ray diffraction experiments. The structures of two known abietane diterpenoids were revised based on NMR calculations and X-ray diffraction data.

Double Perovskite BaLaTaO for Ultrafast Fiber Lasers in Anomalous and Normal Net Dispersion Regime.

Double perovskites (DPs) have been attracting attention in an assortment of optoelectronic applications, for they hold advantages such as high quantum efficiency, long carrier migration distance and strong linear and nonlinear absorptions. As specific kinds of perovskites (PVKs), DPs are gifted with orthorhombic crystal structures which provide rich conversion combinations and broaden the space for research and application. However, few works have been reported about DPs in ultrafast photonics applications.

2D BP/InSe Heterostructures as a Nonlinear Optical Material for Ultrafast Photonics.

The BP/InSe heterojunction has attracted the attention of many fields in successful combined high hole mobility of black phosphorus (BP) and high electron mobility of indium selenide (InSe), and enhanced the environmental stability of BP. Nevertheless, photonics research on the BP/InSe heterostructure was insufficient, while both components are considered promising in the field. In this work, a two-dimensional (2D) BP/InSe heterostructure was fabricated using the liquid-phase exfoliation method.

Baicalin promotes the activation of brown and white adipose tissue through AMPK/PGC1α pathway.

Obesity occurs when energy intake overtops energy expenditure. Promoting activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT) has been proven a promising therapeutic strategy for obesity. Baicalin (BAI) has been shown to be protective for various animal models of cardiovascular diseases, such as pulmonary hypertension, atherosclerosis and myocardial hypertrophy.

DNA demethylation affects imprinted gene expression in maize endosperm.

Background: DNA demethylation occurs in many species and is involved in diverse biological processes. However, the occurrence and role of DNA demethylation in maize remain unknown.

Results: We analyze loss-of-function mutants of two major genes encoding DNA demethylases.

Enhancement of Sensitivity with High-Reflective-Index Guided-Wave Nanomaterials for a Long-Range Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor.

A guided-wave long-range surface plasmon resonance (GW-LRSPR) sensor was proposed in this investigation. In the proposed sensor, high-refractive-index (RI) dielectric films (i.e.

Down-regulation of OsMYB103L distinctively alters beta-1,4-glucan polymerization and cellulose microfibers assembly for enhanced biomass enzymatic saccharification in rice.

Background: As a major component of plant cell walls, cellulose provides the most abundant biomass resource convertible for biofuels. Since cellulose crystallinity and polymerization have been characterized as two major features accounting for lignocellulose recalcitrance against biomass enzymatic saccharification, genetic engineering of cellulose biosynthesis is increasingly considered as a promising solution in bioenergy crops. Although several transcription factors have been identified to regulate cellulose biosynthesis and plant cell wall formation, much remains unknown about its potential roles for genetic improvement of lignocellulose recalcitrance.