Tillering is a critical agronomic trait of wheat (
L.) that determines the shoot architecture and affects grain yield.
(
), encoding a phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein, is implicated in the ...transition to flowering and shoot architecture in plant development. However, the roles of TFL1 homologs is little known in wheat development. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeted mutagenesis was used in this study to generate a set of wheat (Fielder) mutants with single, double or triple-null
alleles. The wheat
mutations decreased the tiller number per plant in the vegetative growth stage and the effective tiller number per plant and spikelet number per spike at maturity in the field. RNA-seq analysis showed that the expression of the auxin signaling-related and cytokinin signaling-related genes was significantly changed in the axillary buds of
mutant seedlings. The results suggested that wheat
were implicated in tiller regulation by auxin and cytokinin signaling.
Background:
Patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) exhibit significant heterogeneity in overall survival. The current tumour-node-metastasis staging system is insufficient to provide ...precise prediction for prognosis.
Methods:
We quantified the levels of various hallmarks of cancer and identified hypoxia as the primary risk factor for overall survival in early-stage LUAD. Different bioinformatic and statistical methods were combined to construct a robust hypoxia-related gene signature for prognosis. Furthermore, a decision tree and a nomogram were constructed based on the gene signature and clinicopathological features to improve risk stratification and quantify risk assessment for individual patients.
Results:
The hypoxia-related gene signature discriminated high-risk patients at an early stage in our investigated cohorts. Survival analyses demonstrated that our gene signature served as an independent risk factor for overall survival. The decision tree identified risk subgroups powerfully, and the nomogram exhibited high accuracy.
Conclusions:
Our study might contribute to the optimization of risk stratification for survival and personalized management of early-stage LUAD.
Aging and the chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) challenge the Chinese government in the process of providing hospitalization services fairly and reasonably. The Chinese government has ...developed the basic medical insurance system to solve the problem of "expensive medical cost and difficult medical services" for vulnerable groups and alleviate the unfair phenomenon. However, few studies have confirmed its effect through longitudinal comparison. This study aimed to explore the trend in the inequity of inpatient use among middle-aged and elderly individuals with NCDs in China.
This longitudinal comparative study was based on CHARLS data in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Concentration index (CI) was used to measure the variation trend of inequity of inpatient services utilization, while the decomposition method of the CI was applied to measure the factors contributing to inequity in inpatient services utilization. The effect of each factor on the change of inequity in inpatient services utilization was divided into the change of the elasticity and the change of inequality using the Oaxaca-type decomposition method.
The affluent middle-aged and elderly patients with NCDs used more inpatient services than poor groups. The per capita household consumption expenditure (PCE) and Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) contributed to the decline in pro-rich inequality of inpatient use, while the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) contributed to the decline in pro-poor inequality of inpatient use.
There was a certain degree of pro-rich unfairness in the probability and frequency of inpatient services utilization for middle-aged and elderly individuals with NCDs in China. The decrease of pro-wealth contribution of PCE and UEBMI offset the decrease of pro-poor contribution of NRCMS, and improved the equity of inpatient services utilization, favoring poor people.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
MnCoGe-based compounds undergo a giant negative thermal expansion (NTE) during the martensitic structural transition from Ni2In-type hexagonal to TiNiSi-type orthorhombic structure. High-resolution ...neutron diffraction experiments revealed that the expansion of unit cell volume can be as large as ΔV/V ∼ 3.9%. The optimized compositions with concurrent magnetic and structural transitions have been studied for magnetocaloric effect. However, these materials have not been considered as NTE materials partially due to the limited temperature window of phase transition. The as-prepared MnCoGe-based compounds are quite brittle and naturally collapse into powders. By using a few percents (3–4%) of epoxy to bond the powders, we introduced residual stress in the bonded samples and thus realized the broadening of structural transition by utilizing the specific characteristics of lattice softening enforced by the stress. As a result, giant NTE (not only the linear NTE coefficient α but also the operation-temperature window) has been achieved. For example, the average α̅ as much as −51.5 × 10–6/K with an operating temperature window as wide as 210 K from 122 to 332 K has been observed in a bonded MnCo0.98Cr0.02Ge compound. Moreover, in the region between 250 and 305 K near room temperature, the α value (−119 × 10–6/K) remains nearly independent of temperature. Such an excellent performance exceeds that of most other materials reported previously, suggesting it can potentially be used as a NTE material, particularly for compensating the materials with large positive thermal expansions.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Copper chalcogenide nanostructures (e.g. one‐ dimensional nanotubes) have been the focus of interest because of their unique properties and great potential in various applications. Their current ...fabrications mainly rely on high‐temperature or complicated processes. Here, with the assistance of theoretical prediction, we prepared Cu2−xE (E=S, Se) micro‐/nanotubes (NTs) with a hierarchical architecture by using copper nanowires (Cu NWs), stable sulfur and selenium powder as precursors at room temperature. The influence of reaction parameters (e.g. precursor ratio, ligands, ligand ratio, and reaction time) on the formation of nanotubes was comprehensively investigated. The resultant Cu2−xE (E=S, Se) NTs were used as counter electrodes (CE) of quantum‐dot‐sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) to achieve a conversion efficiency (η) of 5.02 and 6.25 %, respectively, much higher than that of QDSSCs made with Au CE (η=2.94 %).
Cu2−xE (E=S, Se) micro‐/nanotubes (NTs) with a hierarchical architecture have been prepared by using copper nanowires (Cu NWs), stable sulfur and selenium powder as precursors at room temperature. The resultant nanotubes are fabricated into counter electrodes (CEs) of quantum‐dot‐sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) to significantly boost the conversion efficiency of QDSSCs higher than that made from conventional noble metal CEs (see figure).
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This study was aimed to investigate the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). A meta-analysis including 14 publications (15 cohorts) with ...16,266 patients was performed to evaluate the association between NLR and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS)/recurrence-free survival (RFS) in PCa using hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The combining data showed that increased NLR predict poor OS (HR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.22-1.56) and PFS/RFS (HR = 1.24, 95%CI 1.05-1.46) in PCa. Stratified analysis by PCa type, sample size, ethnicity and NLR cut-off value revealed that NLR showed consistent prognostic value in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients and predict poor PFS/RFS in Asians, but not in Caucasians. These statistical data suggested that increased NLR could predict poor prognosis in patients with PCa.
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Currently, the production of furan aldehydes from raw biomass suffers from low furfural yield and high energy consumption. In this study, a recyclable and practical method was explored for the ...preparation of furfural from corn stover by the one-pot reaction by acidic lithium bromide solution (ALBS) without pretreatment and enzymolysis. In the ALBS reaction, the furan aldehydes were generated by the degradation of lignocellulose; however, the products were unstable and were further dehydrated to form humins. So, dehydration reaction was inhibited in this study, and the high yield of furan aldehydes was obtained, in which 2.94 g/L of furfural and 2.78 g/L of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF) were generated with high solid loading (10 wt%), the presence of commercial catalyst ZSM-5 and co-solvent tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 140 °C for 200 min. Via this method, almost 100% of hemicellulose was transformed to furfural, and 40.71% of cellulose was transformed to 5-HMF, which was based on the theoretical yield of HMF (8.35 g) from glucose (29.30 g) produced from cellulose. After the reaction, the catalyst ZSM-5 was the main component in the solid residue and kept a suitable performance. THF azeotrope was easily separated from the slurry by evaporation. During the removal of THF, lignin was precipitated from the liquid phase and showed lower molecular weight and abundant active groups, which was a potential feedstock for producing valuable aromatics and polymers. Thus, in a one-pot reaction, the ideal yield of furan aldehydes from raw biomass was obtained on a lab scale, and the catalyst, THF, and LiBr were easily recycled, which provided an option to realize the economical production of sustainable furan aldehydes from raw biomass.
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An asymmetric modification method for the roller profile was proposed to address the bias load effect of rollers in the main drive bearing of a large roadheader. A contact mechanics model of the ...bearing was solved, and line contact theory was used to explore the effect of combined load and convexity on the bias load effect. The contact stress was found to be asymmetrically distributed along the contact line. This trend tended to be remarkable with the decrease in axial load or the increase in overturning moment. Symmetrically modified rollers can be used to improve the bias load effect by increasing convexity. However, this process led to the contact stress concentrating in the roller center. The influence of the design parameters for asymmetric modification on the roller profile and the contact stress was considered. The ideal design parameters were determined by using a genetic algorithm. The contact condition and fatigue life were remarkably increased.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The Josephson supercurrent through a hybrid Majorana-quantum dot-Majorana junction is investigated. We particularly analyze the effect of spin-selective coupling between the Majorana and quantum dot ...states, which only emerges in the topological phase and will influence the current through bent junctions and/or in the presence of magnetic fields in the quantum dot. We find that the characteristic behavior of the supercurrent through this system is quite counterintuitive, differing remarkably from the resonant tunneling, e.g. through the similar (normal phase) superconductor-quantum dot-superconductor junction. Our analysis is carried out under the influence of the full set-up parameters and for both the 2π and 4π periodic currents. The present study is expected to be relevant to the future exploration of applications of Majorana-nanowire circuits.
Abstract
Microwave dielectric ceramics with intrinsic low sintering temperatures are potential candidates for low temperature co‐fired ceramics technology. In the present work, the (Li
0.5
Y
0.5
)MoO
...4
ceramic with tetragonal scheelite structures was selected to improve microwave dielectric properties of BiVO
4
ceramics. As proved by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results, scheelite structured solid‐solution ceramics were formed with
x
value ≤0.1 in the (Bi
1−
x
Li
0.5
x
Y
0.5
x
)(V
1−
x
Mo
x
)O
4
. In situ XRD results further confirmed that the addition of (Li
0.5
Y
0.5
)MoO
4
also lowered transition temperature from distorted monoclinic to tetragonal scheelite structure. When
x
value increased further, zircon phase was detected by XRD. Room and high‐temperature Raman spectra also supported the XRD results. Differences of thermal expansion coefficients of both monoclinic and tetragonal scheelite phases lead to an abnormality at phase transition temperature. Good microwave dielectric properties with permittivity above 70 and
Qf
(
Q
= quality factor = 1/dielectric loss and
f
= frequency) value above 8000 GHz were obtained in the (Bi
1−
x
Li
0.5
x
Y
0.5
x
)(V
1−
x
Mo
x
)O
4
solid‐solution ceramics with
x
value ≤0.1 sintered below 800°C. However, permittivity peak values at phase transition temperatures lead to large positive or negative temperature coefficient of resonant frequency, and this needs to be modified via composite technologies in the future.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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