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It is a challenge to prepare organic electrodes for sodium-ion batteries with long cycle life and high capacity. The highly reactive radical intermediates generated during the sodiation/desodiation process could be a critical issue because of undesired side reactions. Here we present durable electrodes with a stabilized α-C radical intermediate. Through the resonance effect as well as steric effects, the excessive reactivity of the unpaired electron is successfully suppressed, thus developing an electrode with stable cycling for over 2,000 cycles with 96.8% capacity retention. In addition, the α-radical demonstrates reversible transformation between three states: C=C; α-C·radical; and α-C − anion. Such transformation provides additional Na + storage equal to more than 0.83 Na + insertion per α-C radical for the electrodes. The strategy of intermediate radical stabilization could be enlightening in the design of organic electrodes with enhanced cycling life and energy storage capability. Reactive radical intermediates can be a problem leading to fast degradation of organic electrodes in sodium-ion batteries. Here, the authors show a stabilized α-C radical displaying reversible transformations between C=C, α-C radical and α-C anionic states to facilitate long cycling and improved capacity.

Background Extracellular vesicles (EVs), known as cell-derived membranous structures harboring a variety of biomolecules, have been widely used in liquid biopsy. Due to the complex biological composition of plasma, plasma RNA omics analysis (RNomics) is easily affected, thus it is necessary to select an optimal strategy from exiting methods according to the performance for intended application. Methods In this study, four different strategies for EVs isolation were performed and compared (i.e. ultracentrifugation (UC), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and two most frequently-used commercially available isolation kit (ExoQuick and exoEasy). We compared the yield, purity, PCR quantification of RNAs, miRNA-seq analyses and mRNA-seq analyses of RNAs from EVs isolated using four methods. Results The results showed that the lowest miRNA binding protein AGO2 (Argonaute-2) and the highest EVs-specific miRNA and lncRNA were observed in EVs obtained through SEC, meanwhile the content of the non-specific miRNA was the lowest. Further RNA-Seq data revealed that RNAs obtained via SEC presented more useful reads for both miRNA and mRNA. Furthermore, the mRNA delivered via SEC tended to have a concentration comparable to the ideal FPKM (Fragments Per Kilobase Million) value. Conclusions SEC shall be used as an optimal strategy for the isolation of EVs in plasma RNomics analysis.

Due to the rapid development of industrial internet technology, the traditional manufacturing industry is in urgent need of digital transformation, and one of the key technologies to achieve this is multi-source data fusion. For this problem, this paper proposes an improved entropy-weighted topsis method for a multi-source data fusion evaluation system. It adds a fusion evaluation system based on the decision-level fusion algorithm and proposes a dynamic fusion strategy. The fusion evaluation system effectively solves the problem of data scale inconsistency among multi-source data, which leads to difficulties in fusing models and low fusion accuracy, and obtains optimal fusion results. The paper then verifies the effectiveness of the fusion evaluation system through experiments on the multilayer feature fusion of single-source data and the decision-level fusion of multi-source data, respectively. The results of this paper can be used in intelligent production and assembly plants in the discrete industry and provide the corresponding management and decision support with a certain practical value.

Major crops are all survivors of domestication bottlenecks. Studies have focused on the genetic loci related to the domestication syndrome, while the contribution of ancient haplotypes remains largely unknown. Here, an ancestral genomic haploblock dissection method is developed and applied to a resequencing dataset of 386 tetraploid/hexaploid wheat accessions, generating a pan-ancestry haploblock map. Together with cytoplastic evidences, we reveal that domesticated polyploid wheat emerged from the admixture of six founder wild emmer lineages, which contributed the foundation of ancestral mosaics. The key domestication-related loci, originated over a wide geographical range, were gradually pyramided through a protracted process. Diverse stable-inheritance ancestral haplotype groups of the chromosome central zone are identified, revealing the expanding routes of wheat and the trends of modern wheat breeding. Finally, an evolution model of polyploid wheat is proposed, highlighting the key role of wild-to-crop and interploidy introgression, that increased genomic diversity following bottlenecks introduced by domestication and polyploidization. The contribution of ancient haplotypes to domestication is largely unknown. Here, the authors develop an ancestral genomic haploblock dissection method to generate a mosaic pan-ancestry genomic map and reveal that the domesticated polyploidy wheat emerged from the admixture of six founder wild emmer linages.

A post-tensioning tendon duct filled with grout can effectively prevent corrosion of the reinforcement, maintain bonding behavior between the reinforcement and concrete, and enhance the load bearing capacity of concrete structures. In practice, grouting of the post-tensioning tendon ducts always causes quality problems, which may reduce structural integrity and service life, and even cause accidents. However, monitoring of the grouting compactness is still a challenge due to the invisibility of the grout in the duct during the grouting process. This paper presents a stress wave-based active sensing approach using piezoceramic transducers to monitor the grouting compactness in real time. A segment of a commercial tendon duct was used as research object in this study. One lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoceramic transducer with marble protection, called a smart aggregate (SA), was bonded on the tendon and installed in the tendon duct. Two PZT patch sensors were mounted on the top outside surface of the duct, and one PZT patch sensor was bonded on the bottom outside surface of the tendon duct. In the active sensing approach, the SA was used as an actuator to generate a stress wave and the PZT sensors were utilized to detect the wave response. Cement or grout in the duct functions as a wave conduit, which can propagate the stress wave. If the cement or grout is not fully filled in the tendon duct, the top PZT sensors cannot receive much stress wave energy. The experimental procedures simulated four stages during the grout pouring process, which includes empty status, half grouting, 90% grouting, and full grouting of the duct. Experimental results show that the bottom PZT sensor can detect the signal when the grout level increases towards 50%, when a conduit between the SA and PZT sensor is formed. The top PZT sensors cannot receive any signal until the grout process is completely finished. The wavelet packet-based energy analysis was adopted in this research to compute the total signal energy received by PZT sensors. Experimental results show that the energy levels of the PZT sensors can reflect the degree of grouting compactness in the duct. The proposed method has the potential to be implemented to monitor the tendon duct grouting compactness of the reinforced concrete structures with post tensioning.

Background Air fine particulate matter and tobacco smoke exposure are primary risk factors for lung cancer. However, their recent global exposure levels, attributable burden, and patterns of inequalities remain insufficiently quantified. Methods Utilizing the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study, we analyzed exposure levels of air fine particulate matter (ambient and household) and tobacco smoke (active and secondhand) by age-standardized summary exposure value (ASEV). Age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized disability-adjusted life years rate (ASDR) were used to assess their attributable lung cancer burden globally. Temporal patterns were examined using weighted average annual percentage change (WAPC). Cross-national health inequalities were evaluated with the concentration index (CI) for ASMR and slope index of inequality (SII) for ASDR. Results In 2021, air fine particulate (PM2.5) exposure peaked in low socio-demographic index (SDI) countries, while tobacco exposure was highest in high-middle SDI regions. Globally, air PM2.5 contributed to 374.21 thousand (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 236.36, 520.26) lung cancer deaths [ambient: 297.60 thousand (95% UI: 183.71, 414.74); household: 76.48 thousand (95% UI: 28.6, 187.34)], whereas tobacco exposure caused 1,238.65 thousand (95% UI: 1,075.69, 1,423.12) deaths [active smoking: 1,195.80 thousand (95% UI: 1,054.67, 1,359.22); secondhand smoke: 97.91 thousand (95% UI: 11.96, 184.91)]. High-middle SDI countries and the Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania regions bore the greatest burden. The attributable burden for males exceeded that for females by approximately twofold for air PM2.5 and fivefold for tobacco exposure. The 55 + age group showed disproportionately high impacts despite lower exposure. From 1990 to 2021, the ASMR attributable to air PM2.5 and tobacco exposure changed annually by -1.32% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.48, -1.16) and − 0.95% (95% CI: -1.03, -0.88), respectively. The attributable ASDR also showed declining trends. Regarding translational health inequality, the air PM2.5 attributable lung cancer burden shifted from high to low SDI countries (CI: 0.05 to -0.10, SII: 31.00 to -35.50), while the tobacco-attributable burden persisted in higher SDI countries, albeit with diminishing inequalities (CI: 0.34 to 0.25, SII: 572.20 to 304.60). Conclusions This up-to-date study provides a comprehensive perspective on air fine particulate matter and tobacco smoke exposure’s impact on lung cancer burden, highlighting its widespread nature, substantial impact, unequal distribution, and preventability. The findings call for targeted interventions and global cooperation across socioeconomic levels to reduce the overall lung cancer burden in the post-pandemic era.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the most common type of esophageal cancer in China and developing countries. The purpose of this review is to summarize the roles of inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), and activation of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) upon binding to its ligand (PD-L1) in the promotion of ESCC. Studies of ESCC performed in vitro and in vivo indicated that PTEN and PD-L1 function in the regulation of cell proliferation, invasion, and migration; the epithelial-mesenchymal transition; resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy; and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Certain genetic variants of PTEN are related to susceptibility to ESCC, and PTEN and PD-L1 also function in ESCC progression and affect the prognosis of patients with ESCC. There is also evidence that the expression of PD-L1 and PTEN are associated with the progression of certain other cancers. Future studies should further examine the relationship of PD-L1 and PTEN and their possible interactions in ESCC.

Kinase inhibitors against Cyclin Dependent Kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6i) are promising cancer therapeutic drugs. However, their effects are limited by primary or acquired resistance in virtually all tumor types. Here, we demonstrate that Leucine Rich Pentatricopeptide Repeat Containing (LRPPRC) controls CDK4/6i response in lung cancer by forming a feedback loop with CDK6. LRPPRC binds to CDK6 -mRNA, increasing the stability and expression of CDK6. CDK6 and its downstream E2F Transcription Factor 1 (E2F1), bind to the LRPPRC promoter and elevate LRPPRC transcription. The activation of the LRPPRC-CDK6 loop facilitates cell cycle G1/S transition, oxidative phosphorylation, and cancer stem cell generation. Gossypol acetate (GAA), a gynecological medicine that has been repurposed as a degrader of LRPPRC, enhances the CDK4/6i sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Our study reveals a mechanism responsible for CDK4/6i resistance and provides an enlightening approach to investigating the combinations of CDK4/6 and LRPPRC inhibitors in cancer therapy. CDK4/6 inhibition is a promising therapeutic approach to treat cancer, but it is challenged by resistance development. Here, the authors show that the RNA binding protein LRPPRC forms a positive feedback loop with CDK6 and inhibiting LRPPRC with the FDA-approved gossypol acetate overcomes CDK4/6 inhibition resistance.

There has been a continuous increase in the global incidence of obesity. Rosa roxburghii Tratt (RRT), a plant with medicinal and edible uses, contains active components that can alleviate obesity, indicating an anti-obesity potential. This research sought to investigate the anti-obesity effects of RRT fruit extract (RRTE) and elucidate the underlying mechanisms and components responsible for its action. RRTE was obtained by enriching the active ingredient in RRT and used to treat HepG2 cells. RRTE alleviated cellular lipid accumulation, reduced reactive oxygen species production, restored cellular mitochondrial function, and enhanced energy metabolism. Network pharmacology combined with molecular docking was used to determine the targets, components, and mechanisms, which were validated through in vitro experiments. p-Coumaric acid and ethyl caffeate were identified as lipid-lowering active components that may reduce lipid accumulation and alleviate obesity through the PI3K-Akt and PPAR signaling pathways.

Background The massive structural variations and frequent introgression highly contribute to the genetic diversity of wheat, while the huge and complex genome of polyploid wheat hinders efficient genotyping of abundant varieties towards accurate identification, management, and exploitation of germplasm resources. Results We develop a novel workflow that identifies 1240 high-quality large copy number variation blocks (CNVb) in wheat at the pan-genome level, demonstrating that CNVb can serve as an ideal DNA fingerprinting marker for discriminating massive varieties, with the accuracy validated by PCR assay. We then construct a digitalized genotyping CNVb map across 1599 global wheat accessions. Key CNVb markers are linked with trait-associated introgressions, such as the 1RS·1BL translocation and 2N v S translocation, and the beneficial alleles, such as the end-use quality allele Glu-D1d (Dx5 + Dy10) and the semi-dwarf r-e-z allele. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these tagged CNVb markers promote a stable and cost-effective strategy for evaluating wheat germplasm resources with ultra-low-coverage sequencing data, competing with SNP array for applications such as evaluating new varieties, efficient management of collections in gene banks, and describing wheat germplasm resources in a digitalized manner. We also develop a user-friendly interactive platform, WheatCNVb ( http://wheat.cau.edu.cn/WheatCNVb/ ), for exploring the CNVb profiles over ever-increasing wheat accessions, and also propose a QR-code-like representation of individual digital CNVb fingerprint. This platform also allows uploading new CNVb profiles for comparison with stored varieties. Conclusions The CNVb-based approach provides a low-cost and high-throughput genotyping strategy for enabling digitalized wheat germplasm management and modern breeding with precise and practical decision-making.