Long-distance entanglement distribution is essential for both foundational tests of quantum physics and scalable quantum networks. Owing to channel loss, however, the previously achieved distance was ...limited to ~100 kilometers. Here we demonstrate satellite-based distribution of entangled photon pairs to two locations separated by 1203 kilometers on Earth, through two satellite-to-ground downlinks with a summed length varying from 1600 to 2400 kilometers. We observed a survival of two-photon entanglement and a violation of Bell inequality by 2.37 ± 0.09 under strict Einstein locality conditions. The obtained effective link efficiency is orders of magnitude higher than that of the direct bidirectional transmission of the two photons through telecommunication fibers.
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been an essential component of human civilization because of its long global history of use in food and beverage fermentation. However, the diversity and ...evolutionary history of the domesticated populations of the yeast remain elusive. We show here that China/Far East Asia is likely the center of origin of the domesticated populations of the species. The domesticated populations form two major groups associated with solid- and liquid-state fermentation and appear to have originated from heterozygous ancestors, which were likely formed by outcrossing between diverse wild isolates primitively for adaptation to maltose-rich niches. We found consistent gene expansion and contraction in the whole domesticated population, as well as lineage-specific genome variations leading to adaptation to different environments. We show a nearly panoramic view of the diversity and life history of S. cerevisiae and provide new insights into the origin and evolution of the species.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been increasingly considered to play an important role in the pathological process of various cardiovascular diseases, which often bind to the proximal promoters of ...the protein‐coding gene to regulate the protein expression. However, the functions and mechanisms of lncRNAs in cardiomyocytes have not been fully elucidated. High‐throughput RNA sequencing was performed to identify the differently expressed lncRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rats and healthy controls. One novel lncRNA FGF9‐associated factor (termed FAF) and mRNAs in AMI rats were verified by bioinformatics, real‐time polymerase chain reaction or western blot. Moreover, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed to determine the location of lncRNA. Subsequently, a series of in vitro assays were used to observe the functions of lncRNA FAF in cardiomyocytes. The expression of lncRNA FAF and FGF9 were remarkably decreased in ischemia–hypoxia cardiomyocytes and heart tissues of AMI rats. Overexpression of FAF could significantly inhibit cardiomyocytes apoptosis induced by ischemia and hypoxia. Conversely, knockdown of lncRNA FAF could promote apoptosis in ischemia–hypoxia cardiomyocytes. Moreover, overexpression of lncRNA FAF could also increase the expression of FGF9. Knockdown of the FGF9 expression could promote apoptosis in cardiomyocytes with the insult of ischemia and hypoxia, which was consistent with the effect of lncRNA FAF overexpression on cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Mechanistically, FGF9 inhibited cardiomyocytes apoptosis through activating signaling tyrosine kinase FGFR2 via phosphoinositide 3‐kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway. Thus, lncRNA FAF plays a protective role in ischemia–hypoxia cardiomyocytes and may serve as a treatment target for AMI.
One novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) FGF9‐associated factor (termed FAF) were investigated in this study. LncRNA FAF plays a protective role in ischemia–hypoxia cardiomyocytes and may serve as a treatment target for acute myocardial infarction.
The budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a leading system in genetics, genomics and molecular biology and is becoming a powerful tool to illuminate ecological and evolutionary principles. ...However, little is known of the ecology and population structure of this species in nature. Here, we present a field survey of this yeast at an unprecedented scale and have performed population genetics analysis of Chinese wild isolates with different ecological and geographical origins. We also included a set of worldwide isolates that represent the maximum genetic variation of S. cerevisiae documented so far. We clearly show that S. cerevisiae is a ubiquitous species in nature, occurring in highly diversified substrates from human‐associated environments as well as habitats remote from human activity. Chinese isolates of S. cerevisiae exhibited strong population structure with nearly double the combined genetic variation of isolates from the rest of the world. We identified eight new distinct wild lineages (CHN I–VIII) from a set of 99 characterized Chinese isolates. Isolates from primeval forests occur in ancient and significantly diverged basal lineages, while those from human‐associated environments generally cluster in less differentiated domestic or mosaic groups. Basal lineages from primeval forests are usually inbred, exhibit lineage‐specific karyotypes and are partially reproductively isolated. Our results suggest that greatly diverged populations of wild S. cerevisiae exist independently of and predate domesticated isolates. We find that China harbours a reservoir of natural genetic variation of S. cerevisiae and perhaps gives an indication of the origin of the species.
See also the Perspective by Fay
Highly-efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 RR) represent the two biggest scientific challenges in artificial photosynthesis. Many efficient and ...cost-affordable electrocatalysts have been reported in the development of electrochemical OER and CO 2 RR; however, during the electro-derived oxidation or reduction processes, a critical fact that, most catalysts tend to undergo structural reconstruction and/or surface rearrangement, has been widely observed, which greatly subverts the traditional conception of “catalysts”. In this respect, the research trends have gradually transferred from optimizing catalyst materials to elucidating the real active sites of the catalysts as well as understanding the underlying mechanisms behind these complex reactions. Most importantly, the in situ / operando characterization techniques are powerful tools to achieve this goal. Herein, recent advances in the in situ X-ray diffraction and absorption spectroscopy that have provided a unique opportunity to investigate the structural reconstruction and/or surface rearrangement of catalysts under realistic OER and CO 2 RR conditions are thoroughly reviewed. Finally, the challenges of the material design are discussed, and the future perspective for developing next-generation catalysts with imperative requirements of material nature is provided.
Pyroptosis is associated with various cardiovascular diseases. Increasing evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in gene regulation, but how lncRNAs participate in ...the regulation of pyroptosis in the heart remains largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to explore the antipyroptotic effects of lncRNA FGF9‐associated factor (FAF) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The expression patterns of lncRNA FAF, miR‐185‐5p and P21 activated kinase 2 (PAK2) were detected in hypoxia/ischaemia‐induced cardiomyocytes. Hoechst 33342/PI staining, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay, immunofluorescence and Western blotting were conducted to assay cell pyroptosis. The interaction between lncRNA FAF, miR‐185‐5p and PAK2 was verified by bioinformatics analysis, small RNA sequencing luciferase reporter assay and qRT‐PCR. The expression of LncRNA FAF was downregulated in hypoxic cardiomyocytes and myocardial tissues. Overexpression of lncRNA FAF could attenuate cardiomyocyte pyroptosis, improve cell viability and reduce infarct size during the procession of AMI. Moreover, lncRNA FAF was confirmed as a sponge of miR‐185‐5p and promoted PAK2 expression in cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel lncRNA FAF/miR‐185‐5p/PAK2 axis as a crucial regulator in cardiomyocyte pyroptosis, which might be a potential therapeutic target of AMI.
In the (Bi1 − xCex)VO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) system, we found that the (Bi1 − xCex)VO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) belongs to the monoclinic scheelite phase and the (Bi1 − xCex)VO4 (0.7 ≤ x ≤ 1) belongs to the tetragonal ...zircon phase, while the (Bi1 − xCex)VO4 (0.1 < x < 0.7) belongs to the mixed phases of both monoclinic scheelite and tetragonal zircon structure. Interestingly, two components with near‐zero temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (TCF) appeared in this system. In our previous work, a near‐zero TCF of ~+15 ppm/°C was obtained in a (Bi0.75Ce0.25)VO4 ceramic with a permittivity (εr) of ~47.9 and a Qf (Q = quality factor = 1/dielectric loss; f = resonant frequency) value of ~18 000 GHz (at 7.6 GHz). Furthermore, in the present work, another temperature‐stable microwave dielectric ceramic was obtained in (Bi0.05Ce0.95)VO4 composition sintered at 950°C and exhibits good microwave dielectric properties with a εr of ~11.9, a Qf of ~22 360 GHz (at 10.6 GHz), and a near‐zero TCF of ~+6.6 ppm/°C. The results indicate that this system might be an interesting candidate for microwave device applications.
The structural uniqueness of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) has brought these new materials great potential for advanced applications. One of the key aspects yet to be developed is how to improve ...the robustness of covalently linked reticular frameworks. In order to make the best use of π-conjugated structures, we develop herein a “killing two birds with one stone” strategy and construct a series of ultrastable benzoxazole-based COFs (denoted as LZU-190, LZU-191, and LZU-192) as metal-free photocatalysts. Benefiting from the formation of benzoxazole rings through reversible/irreversible cascade reactions, the synthesized COFs exhibit permanent stability in the presence of strong acid (9 M HCl), strong base (9 M NaOH), and sunlight. Meanwhile, reticulation of the benzoxazole moiety into the π-conjugated COF frameworks decreases the optical band gap and therefore increases the capability for visible-light absorption. As a result, the excellent photoactivity and unprecedented recyclability of LZU-190 (for at least 20 catalytic runs, each with a product yield of 99%) have been illustrated in the visible-light-driven oxidative hydroxylation of arylboronic acids to phenols. This contribution represents the first report on the photocatalytic application of benzoxazole-based structures, which not only sheds new light on the exploration of robust organophotocatalysts from small molecules to extended frameworks but also offers in-depth understanding of the structure–activity relationship toward practical applications of COF materials.
Benzimidazoles are a versatile class of scaffolds with important biological activities, whereas their synthesis in a lower‐cost and more efficient manner remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate a ...conceptually new radical route for the high‐performance photoredox coupling of alcohols and diamines to synthesize benzimidazoles along with stoichiometric hydrogen (H2) over Pd‐decorated ultrathin ZnO nanosheets (Pd/ZnO NSs). The mechanistic study reveals the unique advantage of ZnO NSs over other supports and particularly that the features of Pd nanoparticles in facilitating the cleavage of the α‐C−H bond of alcohols and adsorbing subsequently‐generated C‐centered radicals hold the key to turning on the reaction. This work highlights a new insight into radical‐induced efficient benzimidazole synthesis pairing with H2 evolution by rationally designing semiconductor‐based photoredox systems.
We report a conceptually new, highly efficient radical route for the benzimidazole synthesis via radical‐induced cross‐coupling of alcohols and o‐arylenediamines concomitantly with hydrogen (H2) production over Pd modified ultrathin ZnO NSs (Pd/ZnO) under mild conditions.
PDF
