Perceived CSR impact on purchase intention: The roles of perceived effectiveness, altruistic attribution, and CSR-CA belief.

With the rapid development of market economy, consumers gradually begin to take corporate social responsibility (CSR) as one of the factors that determine their purchase intention when purchasing products. Based on the attribution theory, this paper develops a moderated mediation model to investigate its internal mechanism, and empirically tests the conceptual model through a questionnaire survey. The results indicate that Perceived CSR has a direct and positive impact on consumers' purchase intention and has an indirect and positive impact on consumers' purchase intention through altruistic attribution.

JMnorm: a novel joint multi-feature normalization method for integrative and comparative epigenomics.

Combinatorial patterns of epigenetic features reflect transcriptional states and functions of genomic regions. While many epigenetic features have correlated relationships, most existing data normalization approaches analyze each feature independently. Such strategies may distort relationships between functionally correlated epigenetic features and hinder biological interpretation.

Major β cell-specific functions of NKX2.2 are mediated via the NK2-specific domain.

The consolidation of unambiguous cell fate commitment relies on the ability of transcription factors (TFs) to exert tissue-specific regulation of complex genetic networks. However, the mechanisms by which TFs establish such precise control over gene expression have remained elusive-especially in instances in which a single TF operates in two or more discrete cellular systems. In this study, we demonstrate that β cell-specific functions of NKX2.

Rice OsCASP1 orchestrates Casparian strip formation and suberin deposition in small lateral roots to maintain nutrient homeostasis.

Casparian strip membrane domain proteins (CASPs) form a transmembrane scaffold to recruit lignin biosynthetic enzymes for Casparian strip (CS) formation. Rice is a semi-aquatic plant with a more complex root structure than to adapt its growing conditions, where the different deposition of lignin and suberin is crucial for adaptive responses. Here, we observed the structure of rice primary and small lateral roots (SLRs), particularly the deposition patterns of lignin and suberin in wild type and .

Facile Uniaxial Electrospinning Strategy To Embed CsPbBr Nanocrystals with Enhanced Water/Thermal Stabilities for Reversible Fluorescence Switches.

All-inorganic halide perovskite nanocrystals with their fascinating optical properties have drawn increasing attention as promising nanoemitters. However, due to the intrinsic poor colloidal stability against the external environment, the practical applications are greatly limited. Herein, a facile and effective strategy for the in situ encapsulation of CsPbBr NCs into highly dense multichannel polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers via a uniaxial electrospinning strategy is presented.

Integration of transcriptomic and proteomic analyses reveals several levels of metabolic regulation in the excess starch and early senescent leaf mutant lses1 in rice.

Background: The normal metabolism of transitory starch in leaves plays an important role in ensuring photosynthesis, delaying senescence and maintaining high yield in crops. OsCKI1 (casein kinase I1) plays crucial regulatory roles in multiple important physiological processes, including root development, hormonal signaling and low temperature-treatment adaptive growth in rice; however, its potential role in regulating temporary starch metabolism or premature leaf senescence remains unclear. To reveal the molecular regulatory mechanism of OsCKI1 in rice leaves, physiological, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of leaves of osckI1 allele mutant lses1 (leaf starch excess and senescence 1) and its wild-type varieties (WT) were performed.

An expansion of the non-coding genome and its regulatory potential underlies vertebrate neuronal diversity.

Proper assembly and function of the nervous system requires the generation of a uniquely diverse population of neurons expressing a cell-type-specific combination of effector genes that collectively define neuronal morphology, connectivity, and function. How countless partially overlapping but cell-type-specific patterns of gene expression are controlled at the genomic level remains poorly understood. Here we show that neuronal genes are associated with highly complex gene regulatory systems composed of independent cell-type- and cell-stage-specific regulatory elements that reside in expanded non-coding genomic domains.

Recent advances in chitosan-based layer-by-layer biomaterials and their biomedical applications.

In recent years, chitosan-based biomaterials have been continually and extensively researched by using layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly, due to their potentials in biomedicine. Various chitosan-based LBL materials have been newly developed and applied in different areas along with the development of technologies. This work reviews the recent advances of chitosan-based biomaterials produced by LBL assembly.

Regulating Catalytic Activity of DNA-Templated Silver Nanoclusters Based on their Differential Interactions with DNA Structures and Stimuli-Responsive Structural Transition.

This work reports exquisite engineering of catalytic activity of DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) based on unique adsorption phenomena of DNAs on DNA-AgNCs and reversible transition between double and triple-stranded DNAs. Four DNA homopolymers exhibit different inhibition effects on the catalytic activity of DNA-AgNCs, poly adenine (polyA) > poly guanine (polyG) > poly cytosine (polyC) > poly thymine (polyT), demonstrating that polyA strands have the strongest adsorption affinity on DNA-AgNCs. Through the formation of T-A•T triplex DNAs, catalytic activity of DNA-AgNCs is restored from the deactivated state by double or single-stranded DNAs, indicating the participation of N7 groups of adenine bases in binding to DNA-AgNCs and blocking active sites.

Illuminating Diverse Concomitant DNA Logic Gates and Concatenated Circuits with Hairpin DNA-Templated Silver Nanoclusters as Universal Dual-Output Generators.

Exquisite administration of a new type of hairpin DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (H-AgNCs) as universal dual-output generators in DNA-based logic systems is reported. Diverse concomitant contrary logic gates (CCLGs) with opposite functions (YES NOT, OR NOR, INHIBIT IMPLICATION, XOR XNOR, and MAJORITY MINORITY) and extended concatenated logic circuits are presented and some of them perform specific functions, such as parity generators and checkers. The introduction of H-AgNCs as noncovalent signal reporters avoids tedious and high-cost labeling procedures.

IDR2D identifies reproducible genomic interactions.

Chromatin interaction data from protocols such as ChIA-PET, HiChIP and Hi-C provide valuable insights into genome organization and gene regulation, but can include spurious interactions that do not reflect underlying genome biology. We introduce an extension of the Irreproducible Discovery Rate (IDR) method called IDR2D that identifies replicable interactions shared by chromatin interaction experiments. IDR2D provides a principled set of interactions and eliminates artifacts from single experiments.

Exploration of intramolecular split G-quadruplex and its analytical applications.

Distinct from intermolecular split G-quadruplex (Inter-SG), intramolecular split G-quadruplex (Intra-SG) which could be generated in a DNA spacer-inserted G-quadruplex strand has not been systematically explored. Not only is it essential for the purpose of simplicity of DNA-based bioanalytical applications, but also it will give us hints how to design split G-quadruplex-based system. Herein, comprehensive information is provided about influences of spacer length and split mode on the formation of Intra-SG, how to adjust its thermodynamic stability, and selection of optimal Intra-SG for bioanalysis.

High resolution discovery of chromatin interactions.

Chromatin interaction analysis by paired-end tag sequencing (ChIA-PET) is a method for the genome-wide de novo discovery of chromatin interactions. Existing computational methods typically fail to detect weak or dynamic interactions because they use a peak-calling step that ignores paired-end linkage information. We have developed a novel computational method called Chromatin Interaction Discovery (CID) to overcome this limitation with an unbiased clustering approach for interaction discovery.

A novel -mer set memory (KSM) motif representation improves regulatory variant prediction.

The representation and discovery of transcription factor (TF) sequence binding specificities is critical for understanding gene regulatory networks and interpreting the impact of disease-associated noncoding genetic variants. We present a novel TF binding motif representation, the -mer set memory (KSM), which consists of a set of aligned -mers that are overrepresented at TF binding sites, and a new method called KMAC for de novo discovery of KSMs. We find that KSMs more accurately predict in vivo binding sites than position weight matrix (PWM) models and other more complex motif models across a large set of ChIP-seq experiments.

Accurate eQTL prioritization with an ensemble-based framework.

We present a novel ensemble-based computational framework, EnsembleExpr, that achieved the best performance in the Fourth Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation expression quantitative trait locus "(eQTL)-causal SNPs" challenge for identifying eQTLs and prioritizing their gene expression effects. eQTLs are genome sequence variants that result in gene expression changes and are thus prime suspects in the search for contributions to the causality of complex traits. When EnsembleExpr is trained on data from massively parallel reporter assays, it accurately predicts reporter expression levels from unseen regulatory sequences and identifies sequence variants that exhibit significant changes in reporter expression.

Predicting gene expression in massively parallel reporter assays: A comparative study.

In many human diseases, associated genetic changes tend to occur within noncoding regions, whose effect might be related to transcriptional control. A central goal in human genetics is to understand the function of such noncoding regions: given a region that is statistically associated with changes in gene expression (expression quantitative trait locus [eQTL]), does it in fact play a regulatory role? And if so, how is this role "coded" in its sequence? These questions were the subject of the Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation eQTL challenge. Participants were given a set of sequences that flank eQTLs in humans and were asked to predict whether these are capable of regulating transcription (as evaluated by massively parallel reporter assays), and whether this capability changes between alternative alleles.

Recent amplification of Osr4 LTR-retrotransposon caused rice gene mutation and dwarf phenotype.

A novel rice mutant was identified using map-based cloning and comparative analysis of known mutants. The mutant () shows a mild dwarf trait, which differs only slightly from the wildtype in plant height at the tillering stage. The mutant is different from other mutants.

Modular combinatorial binding among human trans-acting factors reveals direct and indirect factor binding.

Background: The combinatorial binding of trans-acting factors (TFs) to the DNA is critical to the spatial and temporal specificity of gene regulation. For certain regulatory regions, more than one regulatory module (set of TFs that bind together) are combined to achieve context-specific gene regulation. However, previous approaches are limited to either pairwise TF co-association analysis or assuming that only one module is used in each regulatory region.

Expression of Terminal Effector Genes in Mammalian Neurons Is Maintained by a Dynamic Relay of Transient Enhancers.

Generic spinal motor neuron identity is established by cooperative binding of programming transcription factors (TFs), Isl1 and Lhx3, to motor-neuron-specific enhancers. How expression of effector genes is maintained following downregulation of programming TFs in maturing neurons remains unknown. High-resolution exonuclease (ChIP-exo) mapping revealed that the majority of enhancers established by programming TFs are rapidly deactivated following Lhx3 downregulation in stem-cell-derived hypaxial motor neurons.

Identification of new branch points and unconventional introns in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Spliced messages constitute one-fourth of expressed mRNAs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and most mRNAs in metazoans. Splicing requires 5' splice site (5'SS), branch point (BP), and 3' splice site (3'SS) elements, but the role of the BP in splicing control is poorly understood because BP identification remains difficult. We developed a high-throughput method, Branch-seq, to map BPs and 5'SSs of isolated RNA lariats.

High-throughput mapping of regulatory DNA.

Quantifying the effects of cis-regulatory DNA on gene expression is a major challenge. Here, we present the multiplexed editing regulatory assay (MERA), a high-throughput CRISPR-Cas9-based approach that analyzes the functional impact of the regulatory genome in its native context. MERA tiles thousands of mutations across ∼40 kb of cis-regulatory genomic space and uses knock-in green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporters to read out gene activity.

Whole-genome analysis revealed the positively selected genes during the differentiation of indica and temperate japonica rice.

To investigate the selective pressures acting on the protein-coding genes during the differentiation of indica and japonica, all of the possible orthologous genes between the Nipponbare and 93-11 genomes were identified and compared with each other. Among these genes, 8,530 pairs had identical sequences, and 27,384 pairs shared more than 90% sequence identity. Only 2,678 pairs of genes displaying a Ka/Ks ratio significantly greater than one were revealed, and most of these genes contained only nonsynonymous sites.

High resolution genome wide binding event finding and motif discovery reveals transcription factor spatial binding constraints.

An essential component of genome function is the syntax of genomic regulatory elements that determine how diverse transcription factors interact to orchestrate a program of regulatory control. A precise characterization of in vivo spacing constraints between key transcription factors would reveal key aspects of this genomic regulatory language. To discover novel transcription factor spatial binding constraints in vivo, we developed a new integrative computational method, genome wide event finding and motif discovery (GEM).

Medusa structure of the gene regulatory network: dominance of transcription factors in cancer subtype classification.

Gene expression profiles consisting of ten thousands of transcripts are used for clustering of tissue, such as tumors, into subtypes, often without considering the underlying reason that the distinct patterns of expression arise because of constraints in the realization of gene expression profiles imposed by the gene regulatory network. The topology of this network has been suggested to consist of a regulatory core of genes represented most prominently by transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs, that influence the expression of other genes, and of a periphery of 'enslaved' effector genes that are regulated but not regulating. This 'medusa' architecture implies that the core genes are much stronger determinants of the realized gene expression profiles.

[Differential protein analysis on the root response of rice with high phosphorous uptake efficiency to low phosphorous stress].

A comparative proteomics analysis was performed to identify the molecular response of a rice cultivar (Oryza sative cv. 'IRRI71331') with high phosphorous (P) uptake efficiency to low P stress. The hydroponically grown rice plants were provided with two levels of P (0.