Cyp17a1 is Required for Female Sex Determination and Male Fertility by Regulating Sex Steroid Biosynthesis in Fish.

In teleost fish, sex steroids are involved in sex determination, sex differentiation, and fertility. Cyp17a1 (Cytochrome P450 family 17 subfamily A member 1) is thought to play essential roles in fish steroidogenesis. Therefore, to further understand its roles in steroidogenesis, sex determination, and fertility in fish, we constructed a cyp17a1 gene mutant in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Structures of the human cholecystokinin receptors bound to agonists and antagonists.

Cholecystokinin receptors, CCKR and CCKR, are important neurointestinal peptide hormone receptors and play a vital role in food intake and appetite regulation. Here, we report three crystal structures of the human CCKR in complex with different ligands, including one peptide agonist and two small-molecule antagonists, as well as two cryo-electron microscopy structures of CCKR-gastrin in complex with G and G, respectively. These structures reveal the recognition pattern of different ligand types and the molecular basis of peptide selectivity in the cholecystokinin receptor family.

Overexpression of let-7b exerts beneficial effects on the functions of human placental trophoblasts by activating the ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

The present work aimed to explore let-7b's molecular mechanisms that regulate the functions of placental trophoblasts and to examine placental let-7b expression in human pre-eclampsia (PE). Human trophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cells underwent transduction with control and let-7b overexpressing lentiviruses, respectively. Cell proliferation assessment utilized cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays.

Sulfur-doped wood-derived porous carbon for optimizing electromagnetic response performance.

Bio-mass materials have been selected as one of the advanced electromagnetic (EM) functional materials due to their natural porous framework for dynamically and flexibly optimizing the EM response property. Herein, we demonstrate sulfur-doped wood-derived porous carbon EM materials (SPC) for optimizing the EM response performance the coupling between doped heterostructures and the original 3D microchannels. The experimental results reveal that both the dielectric loss capacity and interfacial impedance matching could be increased by the sulfur-doped heterostructures.

Effects of Different Combinations of Sugar and Starch Concentrations on Ruminal Fermentation and Bacterial-Community Composition .

High levels of starch is known to have positive effects on both energy supply and milk yield but increases the risk of rumen acidosis. The use of sugar as a non-structural carbohydrate could circumvent this risk while maintaining the benefits, but its effects and that of the simultaneous use of both sugar and starch are not as well-understood. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different combinations of sugar and starch concentrations on ruminal fermentation and bacterial community composition in a 4 ×4 factorial experiment.

Sleep-disordered breathing and risk of lung cancer: a meta-analysis longitudinal follow-up studies.

Consensus remains lack regarding whether sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is an independent risk factor for lung cancer. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the relationship of SDB and lung cancer. Longitudinal follow-up studies investigating the association between SDB and incidence of lung cancer were included by search of electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane's Library.

Metal-Organic Frameworks Featuring 18-Connected Nonanuclear Rare-Earth Oxygen Clusters and Cavities for Efficient CH/CO Separation.

Two rare-earth (RE) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) formulated as {(MeNH)[RE(μ-OH)(μ-OH)(DCPB)(HO)]} (RE = Y and Tb; termed JXNU-10) built from a triangular 3,5-di(4'-carboxylphenyl)benzoic acid (DCPB) ligand are presented. JXNU-10 features the rarely observed 18-connected nonanuclear [RE(μ-OH)(μ-OH)] clusters, one-dimensional-nanosized tubular channels, and trigonal-bipyramidal cavities. The presence of the high-nuclear RE-oxo clusters and the robust coordination bonds between the highly charged RE ions and the hard base of the carboxylate/hydroxyl oxygen atoms yielded the water-resistant JXNU-10 materials.

p300/Sp1-Mediated High Expression of p16 Promotes Endothelial Progenitor Cell Senescence Leading to the Occurrence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic disease and develops rapidly into a grave public health problem worldwide. However, what exactly causes the occurrence of COPD remains largely unclear. Here, we are trying to explore whether the high expression of p16 mediated by p300/Sp1 can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through promoting the senescence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs).

Correlation of oxidative stress-related indicators with milk composition and metabolites in early lactating dairy cows.

Background: In highly intensive dairy farms, cows often suffer from metabolic disorders that cause severe oxidative stress.

Objectives: This study aimed to observe correlations and associations of oxidative stress-related indicators with milk compositions and metabolites.

Methods: Twenty-two multiparous Holstein dairy cows in early lactation were randomly selected from a commercial dairy farm.

High-Capacity CuSiP-Based Semisolid Anolyte for Redox Flow Batteries.

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) have attracted more attention due to their ability of decoupling energy and power, but their low energy density has greatly restricted their applications. Semisolid flow batteries (SSFBs) are a kind of RFBs, but they have high energy density. However, there is a lack of research on semisolid anolytes, and thus the application of SSFBs is still in its infancy.

Quantum Phases in a Quantum Rabi Triangle.

The interplay of interactions, symmetries, and gauge fields usually leads to intriguing quantum many-body phases. To explore the nature of emerging phases, we study a quantum Rabi triangle system as an elementary building block for synthesizing an artificial magnetic field. We develop an analytical approach to study the rich phase diagram and the associated quantum criticality.

Is an anthropomorphic app icon more attractive? Evidence from neuroergonomomics.

Exploring what types of app icons are attractive has been a topic of great interest in recent years. The main purpose of this study was to explore the neural mechanism of attention capturing of the anthropomorphic app icons based on neuroergonomics. Participants' perception of different app icons was investigated by using event-related potentials (ERPs) and attractiveness evaluation.

Doubly Modulated Optical Lattice Clock: Interference and Topology.

The quantum system under periodical modulation is the simplest path to understand the quantum nonequilibrium system because it can be well described by the effective static Floquet Hamiltonian. Under the stroboscopic measurement, the initial phase is usually irrelevant. However, if two uncorrelated parameters are modulated, their relative phase cannot be gauged out so that the physics can be dramatically changed.

A Review of Integrated Systems Based on Perovskite Solar Cells and Energy Storage Units: Fundamental, Progresses, Challenges, and Perspectives.

With the remarkable progress of photovoltaic technology, next-generation perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have drawn significant attention from both industry and academic community due to sustainable energy production. The single-junction-cell power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs to date has reached up to 25.2%, which is competitive to that of commercial silicon-based solar cells.

3D Meta-Prisms for Versatile Beam Steering by Hybridizing Plasmonic and Diffractive Effect in the Broadband Visible Regime.

As two independent optical sub-fields, diffraction optics and plasmonics both have been used for wavefront shaping and beam steering. However, the two separate concepts have always been developing as two parallel directions, which have not met for studying their structural hybridization to discover new potentials. For instance of the flat metasurfaces, even though the geometric parameters including shape, size, and periodicity have been studied, it remains mostly unexplored for the 3D spatial height variation.

Controlled Doping Engineering in 2D MoS Crystals toward Performance Augmentation of Optoelectronic Devices.

Doping engineering of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors is vital for expanding their device applications, but has been limited by the inhomogeneous distribution of doping atoms in such an ultrathin thickness. Here, we report the controlled doping of Sn heteroatoms into 2D MoS crystals through a single-step deposition method to improve the photodetection ability of MoS flakes, whereas the host lattice has been well reserved without the random aggregation of the introduced atoms. Atomic-resolution and spectroscopic characterizations provide direct evidence that Sn atoms have been substitutionally doped at Mo sites in the MoS lattice and the Sn dopant leads to an additional strain in the host lattice.

Feasibility of controlling hepatitis E in Jiangsu Province, China: a modelling study.

Background: Hepatitis E, an acute zoonotic disease caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), has a relatively high burden in developing countries. The current research model on hepatitis E mainly uses experimental animal models (such as pigs, chickens, and rabbits) to explain the transmission of HEV. Few studies have developed a multi-host and multi-route transmission dynamic model (MHMRTDM) to explore the transmission feature of HEV.

Identification of high risk clinical and imaging features for intracranial artery dissection using high-resolution cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: Intracranial artery dissection (IAD) often causes headache and cerebral vascular ischemic events. The imaging characteristics of IAD remain unclear. This study aims to characterize the appearance of culprit and non-culprit IAD using high-resolution cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (hrCMR) and quantify the incremental value of hrCMR in identifying higher risk lesions.

CAP1 binds and activates adenylyl cyclase in mammalian cells.

CAP1 (Cyclase-Associated Protein 1) is highly conserved in evolution. Originally identified in yeast as a bifunctional protein involved in Ras-adenylyl cyclase and F-actin dynamics regulation, the adenylyl cyclase component seems to be lost in mammalian cells. Prompted by our recent identification of the Ras-like small GTPase Rap1 as a GTP-independent but geranylgeranyl-specific partner for CAP1, we hypothesized that CAP1-Rap1, similar to CAP-Ras-cyclase in yeast, might play a critical role in cAMP dynamics in mammalian cells.

Environment-Driven Adaptations of Leaf Cuticular Waxes Are Inheritable for .

Cuticular waxes covering the plant surface play pivotal roles in helping plants adapt to changing environments. However, it is still not clear whether the responses of plant cuticular waxes to their growing environments are inheritable. We collected seeds of (a perennial legume) populations from 30 growing sites in northern China and examined the variations of leaf cuticular waxes in a common garden experiment.

Spontaneous Adsorption-Induced -like Micropillars with High Adhesion.

Superhydrophobic surfaces with high adhesion provide high potential for underwater applications. Inspired by leaf, here, we have reported a simple method for fabricating adhesive -like micropillars via photolithography and spontaneous adsorption of organic molecules from the atmosphere. With continuous hydrocarbon adsorption on sputtered cerium dioxide (CeO) films, the surface gradually evolved and eventually became chemically heterogeneous.

Splenic-vasculature involvement is associated with poor prognosis in resected distal pancreatic cancer.

Background: Distal pancreatic carcinoma is one of the most lethal cancers largely due to its high incidence of distant metastasis. This study aims to assess the prognostic value of splenic-vasculature involvement in resected distal pancreatic carcinoma.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we collected the clinicopathologic information of 454 patients with pancreatic cancer and performed univariate and multivariate analyses to identify factors associated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), with an emphasis on the prognostic value of splenic-artery and -vein involvement.

Understanding the hierarchical behavior of BiWO with enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen fixation activity.

Hierarchical Bi2WO6 nanostructures self-assembled with planar arranged nanosheets and dispersed Bi2WO6 nanosheets were synthesized with different dosages of EG via a simple hydrothermal route. The Bi2WO6 photocatalysts were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A control experiment was conducted to test the effect of EG dosage on the growth mechanism and behavior of the highly (010) exposed hierarchical lamellar nanostructures and dispersed nanosheets.