Rethinking asexuality: the enigmatic case of functional sexual genes in Lepraria (Stereocaulaceae).

Background: The ubiquity of sex across eukaryotes, given its high costs, strongly suggests it is evolutionarily advantageous. Asexual lineages can avoid, for example, the risks and energetic costs of recombination, but suffer short-term reductions in adaptive potential and long-term damage to genome integrity. Despite these costs, lichenized fungi have frequently evolved asexual reproduction, likely because it allows the retention of symbiotic algae across generations.

Boosted 1,2-Dichloroethane Deep Destruction over CoRu/AlO Bifunctional Catalysts Surface Oxygen and Water Molecule Synergistic Activation.

Developing efficacious catalysts with superior Cl resistance and polychlorinated byproduct inhibition capability is crucial for realizing the environmentally friendly purification of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). Activating CVOC molecules and desorbing Cl species by modulating the metal-oxygen property is a promising strategy to fulfill these. Herein, a bifunctional CoRu/AlO catalyst with synergistic Co and Ru interactions (Ru-O-Co species) was rationally fabricated, which possesses abundant surface Co and Ru sites and collaboratively facilitates the activation of lattice oxygen (O) and molecular oxygen (O → O → O), accelerating 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE) decomposition the reaction route of enolic species → aldehydes → carboxylate/carbonate.

Early puberty: a review on its role as a risk factor for metabolic and mental disorders.

Accumulating evidence indicates that there is a trend of early puberty onset in humans. The early timing of puberty has raised concerns due to its association with significant negative health outcomes. However, overall impact and potential risk of early puberty remain uncertain.

A Redox-Active Iron-Organic Framework Cathodes for Sustainable Magnesium Metal Batteries.

Rechargeable magnesium metal batteries (RMBs) have shown promising prospects in sustainable energy storage due to the high crustal abundance, safety, and potentially large specific capacity of magnesium. However, their development is constrained by the lack of effective cathode materials that can achieve high capacity and stable magnesium storage at a practically reasonable rate. Herein, we construct a three-dimensional (3D) iron(III)-dihydroxy-benzoquinone (Fe(DHBQ)) metal-organic framework (MOF) material with dual redox centers of Fe cations and DHBQ anions for reversible storage of Mg in RMBs.

A Facile Strategy for Constructing High-Performance Polymer Electrolytes via Anion Modification and Click Chemistry for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries.

Polymer electrolytes play a crucial role in advancing rechargeable magnesium batteries (RMBs) owing to their exceptional characteristics, including high flexibility, superior interface compatibility, broad electrochemical stability window, and enhanced safety features. Despite these advantages, research in this domain remains nascent, plagued by single preparation approaches and challenges associated with the compatibility between polymer electrolytes and Mg metal anode. In this study, we present a novel synthesis strategy to fabricate a glycerol α,α'-diallyl ether-3,6-dioxa-1,8-octanedithiol-based composite gel polymer electrolyte supported by glass fiber substrate (GDT@GF CGPE) through anion modification and thiol-ene click chemistry polymerization.

Interpretable machine learning reveals microbiome signatures strongly associated with dairy cow milk urea nitrogen.

The gut microbiome plays an important role in the healthy and efficient farming of dairy cows. However, high-dimensional microbial information is difficult to interpret in a simplified manner. We collected fecal samples from 161 cows and performed 16S amplicon sequencing.

Whirligig beetle uses lift-based thrust for fastest insect swimming.

Whirligig beetles (Gyrinidae) are the fastest-swimming insects. The one-centimeter long aquatic beetle can reach a peak acceleration of 100 m s and a top velocity of 100 body lengths per second. Previous studies have suggested that drag-based thrust by their hind legs is responsible for their propulsion.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and breast cancer: a meta-analysis.

Background: Globally, the burden of breast cancer has increased significantly in recent decades. Emerging evidence suggested that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which have the potential to interfere with the function of normal hormones, may play a crucial role in this trend. However, the potential relationships were inconsistent in various studies.

A Survey of Deep Learning-Based Low-Light Image Enhancement.

Images captured under poor lighting conditions often suffer from low brightness, low contrast, color distortion, and noise. The function of low-light image enhancement is to improve the visual effect of such images for subsequent processing. Recently, deep learning has been used more and more widely in image processing with the development of artificial intelligence technology, and we provide a comprehensive review of the field of low-light image enhancement in terms of network structure, training data, and evaluation metrics.

High-Energy Aqueous Magnesium Ion Batteries with Capacity-Compensation Evolved from Dynamic Copper Ion Redox.

The low specific capacity and low voltage plateau are significant challenges in the advancement of practical magnesium ion batteries (MIBs). Here, a superior aqueous electrolyte combining with a copper foam interlayer between anode and separator is proposed to address these drawbacks. Notably, with the dynamic redox of copper ions, the weakened solvation of Mg cations in the electrolyte and the enhanced electronic conductivity of anode, which may offer effective capacity-compensation to the 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI)-Mg conversion reactions during the long-term cycles.

alleviates LPS-induced acute immune stress in goats by regulating bacterial communities and blood metabolites.

The mitigation and prevention of acute immune stress are essential for livestock production. () has shown positive effects in stabilizing intestinal microbiota disorders, improving immune function and inhibiting disease development, but its effects on ruminants are unclear. Therefore, the current trial hypothesized that could improve goats' immune function and antioxidant capacity by regulating bacterial communities and blood metabolism and effectively alleviating the acute immune stress induced by Lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Effects of microplastics and surfactants on surface roughness of water waves.

We study the flow physics underlying the recently developed remote sensing capability of detecting oceanic microplastics, which is based on the measurable surface roughness reduction induced by the presence of microplastics on the ocean surface. In particular, we are interested in whether this roughness reduction is caused by the microplastics as floating particles, or by surfactants which follow similar transport paths as microplastics. For this purpose, we experimentally test the effects of floating particles and surfactants on surface roughness, quantified by the mean square slope (MSS), with waves generated by a mechanical wave maker or by wind.

Mixed oats and alfalfa improved the antioxidant activity of mutton and the performance of goats by affecting intestinal microbiota.

Oat hay and alfalfa hay are important roughage resources in livestock production. However, the effect of the mixture of oat hay and alfalfa hay on the meat quality of Albas goats is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of feeding different proportions of oat hay and alfalfa hay on the growth performance and meat quality of Albas goats.

Adjuvant anti-PD-1 antibody for hepatocellular carcinoma with high recurrence risks after hepatectomy.

Background And Purpose: The clinical role of postoperative adjuvant therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. The purpose of our study was to explore the clinical value of postoperative adjuvant anti-programed cell death 1 antibody (PA-PD-1) on the prognosis of HCC patients with high relapse risks after surgery.

Patients And Methods: Data of consecutive HCC patients with high recurrence risks treated with liver resection at our center during January 2019 and March 2021 were prospectively collected.

Rationally Engineering a CuO/Pd@SiO Core-Shell Catalyst with Isolated Bifunctional Pd and Cu Active Sites for -Butylamine Controllable Decomposition.

Volatile organic amines are a category of typical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) extensively presented in industrial exhausts causing serious harm to the atmospheric environment and human health. Monometallic Pd and Cu-based catalysts are commonly adopted for catalytic destruction of hazardous organic amines, but their applications are greatly limited by the inevitable production of toxic amide and NO byproducts and inferior low-temperature activity. Here, a CuO/Pd@SiO core-shell-structured catalyst with diverse functionalized active sites was creatively developed, which realized the total decomposition of -butylamine at 260 °C with a CO yield and N selectivity reaching up to 100% and 98.

Regulation of wakefulness by astrocytes in the lateral hypothalamus.

The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is an important brain region mediating sleep-wake behavior. Recent evidence has shown that astrocytes in central nervous system modulate the activity of adjacent neurons and participate in several physiological functions. However, the role of LH astrocytes in sleep-wake regulation remains unclear.

COVID-19 vaccination perception and uptake among cancer patients in Guangzhou, China.

Patients with cancer are considered at high risk of COVID-19 related complications with higher mortality rates than healthy individuals. This study investigated the perception, acceptance, and influencing factors of COVID-19 vaccination among cancer patients in Guangzhou, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Guangzhou, China from August to November 2021 in two tertiary medical centers.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation With on Growth Performance, Apparent Digestibility, Blood Metabolites, Ruminal Fermentation and Bacterial Communities of Fattening Goats.

() is currently widely used to improve the body health and productive performance of monogastric animals. However, there have been few reports on the effects and specific mechanism of action of in ruminants. This study aimed to investigate the effects of supplementation on the growth performance and digestive microbiota of fattening goats.

Biotemplate Fabrication of Hollow Tubular CeSrTiO with Regulable Surface Acidity and Oxygen Mobility for Efficient Destruction of Chlorobenzene: Intrinsic Synergy Effect and Reaction Mechanism.

Developing economic and applicable catalysts with elegant chlorine resistance and organic byproduct inhibition capability is of great significance for chlorinated volatile organic compounds (Cl-VOCs) eco-friendly purification. Here, ternary CeSrTiO catalysts with tunable surface acidity and oxygen species mobility were creatively fabricated using the hollow tubular-structured fruit hair of Platanus (FHP; a widespread greenery waste) as the scaffolding biotemplate. It is shown that the oxygen vacancy (O) triggered by the presence of Ce can optimize the synergy between the Lewis acid sites (LAS) and Brønsted acid sites (BAS).

Effect of NUDT15 polymorphisms on early hematological safety of low-dose azathioprine in Chinese patients with pemphigus vulgaris: A prospective cohort study.

Azathioprine (AZA) is the preferred immunosuppressant for treating pemphigus vulgaris (PV), with discontinuation mainly attributed to hematological adverse events (AE). Reportedly, nucleoside diphosphate-linked moiety X-type motif 15 (NUDT15) polymorphisms have been strongly associated with thiopurine-induced leukopenia. To investigate hematological AE of low-dose AZA based on NUDT15 genotypes among patients with PV, a prospective cohort study was conducted in patients with PV, followed-up for the first 8 weeks after AZA administration.

Evaluation of Statistical Process Control Techniques in Monitoring Weekly Body Condition Scores as an Early Warning System for Predicting Subclinical Ketosis in Dry Cows.

The management of body condition score (BCS) during the dry period is associated with the postpartum health outcomes of dairy cows. However, the difference between the actual BCS and the fixed ideal value is not able to accurately predict the occurrence of postpartum diseases. This study aimed to use statistical process control (SPC) technology to monitor the BCS of dry cows, to evaluate the effect of control charts on nutritional strategies, and to explore the utility of SPC in predicting the incidence of postpartum subclinical ketosis (SCK).