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(1) Background: Backcross (BC) breeding is a key technology of crop improvement, yet its efficiency largely depends on the precise assessment of the genetic background recovery. Conventional molecular marker-assisted techniques suffer from inadequate genomic coverage or an inability to resolve true chromosomal structure. (2) Methods: To address major issues in maize BC breeding, we devised a G2H block-scanning strategy. This approach converts high-density point markers into haplotype blocks, enabling precise evaluation of the genetic background in backcross progenies. A key innovation is the CFDI, which quantifies the distribution of unrecovered fragments, allowing for visual tracking of chromosomal recombination and identification of ideal individuals with both a high genetic background recovery rate and few small fragments retention. (3) Results: We validated the accuracy and effectiveness of the G2H strategy across multiple backcross generations. Through enabling a precise \"point-to-line-to-area\" panoramic assessment of genetic background, G2H provides a powerful tool for developing ideal breeding materials with pure genetic background and minimized linkage drag. (4) Conclusions: Notably, this strategy significantly shortens the breeding cycle by 2-3 generations compared to conventional background assessment methods, thereby accelerating precision molecular design breeding in crops.

Summary Kernel row number (KRN) is a major yield related trait for maize (Zea mays L.) and is also a major goal of breeders, as it can increase the number of kernels per plant. Thus, identifying new genetic factors involving in KRN formation may accelerate improving yield‐related traits genetically. We herein describe a new kernel number‐related gene (KRN5b) identified from KRN QTL qKRN5b and encoding an inositol polyphosphate 5‐phosphatase (5PTase). KRN5b has phosphatase activity towards PI(4,5)P2, PI(3,4,5)P3, and Ins(1,4,5)P3 in vitro. Knocking out KRN5b caused accumulation of PI(4,5)P2 and Ins(1,4,5)P3, resulting in disordered kernel rows and a decrease in the number of kernels and tassel branches. The introgression of the allele with higher expression abundance into different inbred lines could increase the ear weight of the inbred lines and the corresponding hybrids by 10.1%–12.2% via increasing KRN, with no adverse effects on other agronomic traits. Further analyses showed that KRN5b regulates inflorescence development through affecting the synthesis and distribution of hormones. Together, KRN5b contributes to spikelet pair meristem development through inositol phosphate and phosphatidylinositols, making it a selecting target for yield improvement.

Three new heterometallic coordination compounds, namely, [KCu（I3）（L）2（H2O）2]n （1）, [KCu（I3）（L）2（H20）]n （2） and [CIIK4（I3）z（L＇）4]n （3）, were prepared and characterized （HL=5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid, HL＇=p-tolylacetic acid）. Structural studies revealed that 1 and 2 exhibit 3D frameworks with rectangular channels occupied by triiodide ions. Both compounds can be symbolized as a 5-connected net with pcu topology. In compound 3, a one-dimensional polyhedral chain is connected by hexanuclear mask like clusters [Cu2K408]. These chains are further linked each other via rare （1,1,3,3）-triiodide ion-bridging units to generate a 3D （4,5,6）-connected net with the point symbol of { 12}2{4·12^2}4{4^6}{4^8·62}4{49.66}4. It is noteworthy that water-induced reversible dissolution/reorganization processes occur between 1/2 and [Cu（L）2（HzO）],＇3nH20. The thermal and photoluminescence properties of compounds 1, 2, and 3 were investigated as well.

The midlatitude westerlies are one of the major components of the global atmospheric circulation. They play an important role in midlatitude weather and climate, and are particularly significant in interpreting aeolian sediments. In this study, we analyzed the behavior and the possible mechanism involved in the change of the westerlies, mainly in terms of the jet stream position, in the mid-Pliocene warm period （3.3 to 3.0 million years ago） using simulations of 15 climate models from the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project （PlioMIP）. Compared to the reference period, the mid-Pliocene midlatitude westerlies generally shifted poleward （approximately 3.6° of latitude in the Northern Hemisphere and 1.9~ of latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at 850 hPa level） with a dipole pattern. The dipole pattern of the tropospheric zonal wind anomalies was closely related to the change of the tropospheric meridional temperature gradient as a result of thermal structure adjustment. The poleward shift of the midlatitude westerly jet corresponded to the poleward shift of the mean meridional circulation. The sea surface temperatures and sea ice may have affected the simulated temperature structure and zonal winds, causing the spread of the westerly anomalies in the mid-Pliocene between the atmosphere-only and coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulations.

A 3D mixed-valence Co（Ⅲ）-Co（Ⅱ） compound [Co9（bta）10（Hbta）2（H2O）10]n·[22（H2O）]n （1） （H2bta=N,N-bis（1H-tetrazole-5- yl）-amine） was hydrothermally synthesized by reaction of Co（NO3）2·6H2O with H2bta·H2O. Compound 1 consists of three kinds of distorted-octahedral [CoⅡ（N4O2）] paramagnetic nodes which are separated by [CoⅢ（bta）2（Hbta）]2-/[CoⅢ（bta）3]3- dia- magnetic linkers to generate a 3D porous metal-organic framework （MOF） with alternative …Co（Ⅲ）…Co（II）… array and channels incorporating water molecules. Under an applied magnetic field of 4000 Oe, compound 1 exhibits slow relaxation of magnetization at low temperatures, giving AE/kB=30.O0 K and ι0=2.0×10^-8 s.

In this study, we investigate the image of a rotating compact object (CO) illuminated by a geometrically thin, optically thin disk on the equatorial plane. As the radius of the CO’s surface fluctuates, the CO may partially or entirely obscure the photon region. We observe that the perceived photon ring may exhibit discontinuities, deviating from a closed structure, and may even disappear entirely. We find that the disruption and disappearance of the photon ring are dependent on the observational angle-a novel phenomenon not previously observed in black hole imaging studies. Our study reveals that while the factors influencing this unique photon ring phenomenon are diverse and the outcomes complex, we can provide a clear and comprehensive explanation of the physical essence and variation trends of this phenomenon. We do this by introducing and analyzing the properties and interrelationships of three characteristic functions, η ~ , η o , and η s related to the photon impact parameters. Additionally, our analysis of the intensity cuts and inner shadows of the images uncovers patterns that differ significantly from the shadow curve.

Single-cell RNA sequencing technologies profile the transcriptome of individual cells but lack the spatial context necessary for dissecting cellular interactions like cell-cell communications. On the other hand, most current spatial transcriptomic technologies lack cellular resolution, limiting their capability for realistic downstream analysis. Here we present CellRefiner, a physical model-based method that integrates a single-cell dataset with a paired spatial dataset to generate single-cell resolution in the imputed spatial data. CellRefiner models cells as particles connected by forces, and then optimizes cell locations with spatial proximity constraints, gene expression similarity, and ligand-receptor interactions between cells. We systematically benchmark CellRefiner over a variety of simulated and real datasets using Visium, MERFISH, seqFISH, Slide-seqV2, and STARmap datasets to demonstrate its accuracy, robustness, and ability to recover spatial patterns of cells. We also demonstrate its utility for improving spatially dependent analysis over the original spatial data for the contact-based cell-cell communication on mouse cortex and lymph node tissues. Our results show CellRefiner is capable of reconstructing single-cell resolution from non-single-cell resolution spatial data, allowing downstream analysis that requires individual-cell resolution and spatial information. CellRefiner uses a biophysical, particle-based model to reconstruct realistic single-cell spatial maps from low-resolution spatial transcriptomics, enabling more accurate analysis of cell-cell communication and tissue organization than spot-level data alone.

Aerosol optical depth (AOD), which represents the optical attenuation, poses a major threat to the production activity, air quality, human health and regional sustainable development of arid and semi-arid areas. To some degree, AOD shows areal air pollution level and possesses obvious spatio-temporal characteristics. However, long-time sequences and detailed AOD information can not be provided due to currently limited monitoring technology. In this paper, a daily AOD product, MODIS-based Multi-angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC), is deployed to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2000 to 2019. In addition, the importance of influencing factors for AOD is calculated through Random Forest (RF) Model and the propagation trajectories of pollutants are simulated through Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) Model. Spatio distribution of AOD presents a tendency that AOD value in northern Xinjiang is low while the value in southern Xinjiang is high. Regions with high AOD values are mainly concentrated in Tarim Basin. AOD in southern Xinjiang is the highest, followed by that in eastern Xinjiang and AOD value in northern Xinjiang is the lowest. Seasonal variation of AOD is significant: Spring (0.309) > summer (0.200) > autumn (0.161) > winter (0.158). Average AOD value in Xinjiang is 0.196. AOD appears wavy from 2000 to 2014 with its low inflection point (0.157) appearing in 2005, and then increases, reaching its peak in 2014 (0.223). The obvious downward tendency after 2014 shows that the use of coal to natural gas (NG) conversion project improves the conditions of local environment. According to RF Model, NG contributes most to AOD. HYSPLIT Model reveals that aerosol in southern Xinjiang is related to the short-distant carriage of dust aerosol from the Taklimakan Desert. Aerosol there can affect Inner Mongolia through long-distant transport. Blocked by the Tianshan Mountains, fine dust particles can not cross the Tianshan Mountains to become a factor contributing to AOD in northern Xinjiang.

To ensure personnel safety and prevent serious accidents, it is crucial to monitor parameters such as temperature, pressure, and gas composition concentrations in confined spaces. This study proposes a multi-parameter simultaneous inversion algorithm based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). The algorithm integrates the Levenberg–Marquardt (L-M) fitting method, single-line thermometry and manometry methods, spectral separation, and alternating iteration techniques, with an adaptive feedback mechanism adding to enhance convergence stability. Through this approach, simultaneous inversion of H2O, CO2, CO, and O2 concentrations, temperature, and pressure was successfully achieved. Simulation results demonstrated that the measurement accuracy meets practical requirements. This study provides an effective monitoring method for multi-parameter detection in confined spaces within conventional environments and lays a foundation for expanding the application scope of TDLAS technology.

While the development of nanochemistry has spurred the emergence of catalytic nanomedicine, nanocatalysts with multifaceted catalytic properties for therapeutic applications remain underexplored. Here, we present two-dimensional BiCuSeO nanosheets (BCSO NSs) as the superlattice nanocatalyst for multimodal energy transformation-driven nanocatalytic therapy. Benefiting from the intrinsic layered heterostructures and a narrow bandgap, BCSO NSs feature photothermoelectric and sono-piezoelectric catalytic effects, as well as enzyme-mimicking catalytic activities. Theoretical calculations reveal that the internal electric fields within superlattice nanostructures contribute to the rapid separation and suppressed recombination of charge carriers. Consequently, BCSO NSs enable controlled reactive oxygen species generation under the second near-infrared light or ultrasound irradiations. The enzymatic activity of BCSO NSs also facilitates the transformation of tumor-specific substrates, dysregulating the redox homeostasis. The photothermoelectric and sono-piezoelectric/enzymatic activities of BCSO NSs have been exemplified by antibacterial and anticancer applications, highlighting the potential of two-dimensional superlattice nanocatalysts to address diverse pathological abnormalities. Nanocatalysts with multifaceted catalytic properties are promising for therapeutic uses but remain underexplored. Here, the authors report two-dimensional BiCuSeO nanosheets that exhibit multimodal energy transformation-mediated sono-piezoelectric, photothermoelectric and enzyme-mimicking activities, allowing tumour eradication and bacterial infection treatment with spatiotemporal controllability.