As one of the most important mineral nutrient elements, potassium (K(+)) participates in many plant physiological processes and determines the yield and quality of crop production. In this review, we ...summarize K(+) signaling processes and K(+) transport regulation in higher plants, especially in plant responses to K(+)-deficiency stress. Plants perceive external K(+) fluctuations and generate the initial K(+) signal in root cells. This signal is transduced into the cytoplasm and encoded as Ca(2+) and reactive oxygen species signaling. K(+)-deficiency-induced signals are subsequently decoded by cytoplasmic sensors, which regulate the downstream transcriptional and posttranslational responses. Eventually, plants produce a series of adaptive events in both physiological and morphological alterations that help them survive K(+) deficiency.
Gut microbiota has been well recognized in regulation of intestinal homeostasis and pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases. However, the mechanisms involved are still not completely understood. ...Further, the components of the microbiota which are critically responsible for such effects are also largely unknown. Accumulating evidence suggests that, in addition to pathogen-associated molecular patterns, nutrition and bacterial metabolites might greatly impact the immune response in the gut and beyond. Short chain fatty acids (SCFA), which are metabolized by gut bacteria from otherwise indigestible fiber-rich diets, have been shown to ameliorate diseases in animal models of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and allergic asthma. Although the exact mechanisms for the action of SCFA are still not completely clear, most notable among the SCFA targets is the mammalian G protein-coupled receptor pair of GPR41 and GPR43. In addition to the well-documented inhibition of histone deacetylases activity mainly by butyrate and propionate, which causes anti-inflammatory activities on IEC, macrophages, and dendritic cells, SCFA has recently been implicated in promoting development of Treg cells and possibly other T cells. In addition to animal models, the beneficial effects have also been reported from the clinical studies that used SCFA therapeutically in controlled trial settings in inflammatory disease, in that application of SCFA improved indices of IBD and therapeutic efficacy was demonstrated in acute radiation proctitis. In this review article, we will summarize recent progresses of SCFA in regulation of intestinal homeostasis as well as in pathogenesis of IBD.
•K+ channels and transporters are involved in diverse physiological processes.•Plants can sense external K+ deficiency and generate low-K+ signals in plant cells.•The transcription of many K+ ...transporter genes are induced by low-K+ stress.•Phosphorylation is crucial for the regulation of both K+ channels and transporters.•Coordination of K+/NO3− absorption and translocation is necessary for plants.
As an essential macronutrient, potassium (K+) plays crucial roles in diverse physiological processes during plant growth and development. The K+ concentration in soils is relatively low and fluctuating. Plants are able to perceive external K+ changes and generate chemical and physical signals in plant cells. The signals can be transducted across the plasma membrane and into the cytosol, and eventually regulates the downstream targets, particularly K+ channels and transporters. As a result, K+ homeostasis in plant cells is modulated, which facilitates plant adaptation to K+ deficient conditions. This minireview focuses on the latest research progress in the diverse functions of K+ channels and transporters as well as their regulatory mechanisms in plant response to low-K+ stress.
The Li metal anode has long been considered as one of the most ideal anodes due to its high energy density. However, safety concerns, low efficiency, and huge volume change are severe hurdles to the ...practical application of Li metal anodes, especially in the case of high areal capacity. Here it is shown that that graphitized carbon fibers (GCF) electrode can serve as a multifunctional 3D current collector to enhance the Li storage capacity. The GCF electrode can store a huge amount of Li via intercalation and electrodeposition reactions. The as‐obtained anode can deliver an areal capacity as high as 8 mA h cm−2 and exhibits no obvious dendritic formation. In addition, the enlarged surface area and porous framework of the GCF electrode result in lower local current density and mitigate high volume change during cycling. Thus, the Li composite anode displays low voltage hysteresis, high plating/stripping efficiency, and long lifespan. The multifunctional 3D current collector promisingly provides a new strategy for promoting the cycling lifespan of high areal capacity Li anodes.
Graphitized carbon fiber electrode is demonstrated to improve the cycling performance of high‐areal‐capacity Li anodes due to dual reaction types, reduced current density, and confined volume change. This Li anode can deliver a high areal capacity of 8 mA h cm−2 without Li dendrites and displays low voltage hysteresis, high plating/stripping efficiency, and long cycling lifespan.
Abstract We report the observations of FRB 20220912A using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope. We conducted 17 observations totaling 8.67 hr and detected a total of 1076 bursts ...with an event rate up to 390 hr −1 . The cumulative energy distribution can be well described using a broken power-law function with the lower- and higher-energy slopes of −0.38 ± 0.02 and −2.07 ± 0.07, respectively. We also report the L -band (1–1.5 GHz) spectral index of the synthetic spectrum of FRB 20220912A bursts, which is −2.6 ± 0.21. The average rotation measure value of the bursts from FRB 20220912A is −0.08 ± 5.39 rad m −2 , close to 0 rad m −2 and was relatively stable over 2 months. Most bursts have nearly 100% linear polarization. About 45% of the bursts have circular polarization with Signal-to-Noise ratio > 3, and the highest circular polarization degree can reach 70%. Our observations suggest that FRB 20220912A is located in a relatively clean local environment with complex circular polarization characteristics. These various behaviors imply that the mechanism of circular polarization of FRBs likely originates from an intrinsic radiation mechanism, such as coherent curvature radiation or inverse Compton scattering inside the magnetosphere of the FRB engine source (e.g., a magnetar).
By means of a fuzzy coimplication operator J and a triangular conorm S, we set forth two pairs of (J,S)-fuzzy rough set models, which are generalizations of fuzzy rough sets. Then, according to the ...classifications of the coimplication operators (R-coimplicators and T-coimplicators), we investigate relationships among our proposed models and some existing rough set models. In this paper, by the idea of the PROMETHEE method, we apply (J,S)-fuzzy rough set models to make decisions with evaluation of fuzzy information. An example illustrates the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed method to solve practical problems. By comparing the ranking results of the existing methods and our proposed method, we observe that the optimal selected alternative is the same, which means that there is a consistency among our proposed decision-making method and the existing methods. In addition, we find that the traditional methods may fail in some practical situations while our proposed method is still valid.
Attribute reduction is one of the biggest challenges encountered in computational intelligence, data mining, pattern recognition, and machine learning. Effective in feature selection as the rough set ...theory is, it can only handle symbolic attributes. In order to overcome this drawback, the fuzzy rough set model is proposed, which is an extended model of rough sets and is able to deal with imprecision and uncertainty in both symbolic and numerical attributes. The existing attribute selection algorithms based on the fuzzy rough set model mainly take the angle of "attribute set," which means they define the object function representing the predictive ability for an attribute subset with regard to the domain of discourse, rather than following the view of an "object pair." Algorithms from the viewpoint of the object pair can ignore the object pairs that are already discerned by the selected attribute subsets and, thus, need only to deal with part of object pairs instead of the whole object pairs from the discourse, which makes such algorithms more efficient in attribute selection. In this paper, we propose the concept of reduced maximal discernibility pairs, which directly adopts the perspective of the object pair in the framework of the fuzzy rough set model. Then, we develop two attribute selection algorithms, named as reduced maximal discernibility pairs selection and weighted reduced maximal discernibility pair selection, based on the reduced maximal discernibility pairs. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithms are effective and efficient in attribute selection.
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) silence transposons to safeguard genome integrity in animals. However, the functions of the many piRNAs that do not map to transposons remain unknown. Here, we show ...that piRNA targeting in
can tolerate a few mismatches but prefer perfect pairing at the seed region. The broad targeting capacity of piRNAs underlies the germline silencing of transgenes in
Transgenes engineered to avoid piRNA recognition are stably expressed. Many endogenous germline-expressed genes also contain predicted piRNA targeting sites, and periodic An/Tn clusters (PATCs) are an intrinsic signal that provides resistance to piRNA silencing. Together, our study revealed the piRNA targeting rules and highlights a distinct strategy that
uses to distinguish endogenous from foreign nucleic acids.
Inorganic materials with controllable shapes have been an intensely studied subject in nanoscience over the past decades. Control over novel and anisotropic shapes of inorganic nanomaterials ...differing from those of bulk materials leads to unique and tunable properties for widespread applications such as biomedicine, catalysis, fuels or solar cells and magnetic data storage. This review presents a comprehensive overview of shape-controlled inorganic nanomaterials
via
nucleation and growth theory and the control of experimental conditions (including supersaturation, temperature, surfactants and secondary nucleation), providing a brief account of the shape control of inorganic nanoparticles during wet-chemistry synthetic processes. Subsequently, typical mechanisms for shape-controlled inorganic nanoparticles and the general shape of the nanoparticles formed by each mechanism are also expounded. Furthermore, the differences between similar mechanisms for the shape control of inorganic nanoparticles are also clearly described. The authors envision that this review will provide valuable guidance on experimental conditions and process control for the synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles with tunable shapes in the solution state.
The controlled shapes of inorganic nanoparticles through diverse mechanisms in solution were discussed based on classical nucleation and growth theory.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or its ligand (PD-L1) produce unique ...toxicity profiles. The objective of this review was to identify patterns and incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAE) based on tumour type and ICI class.
Medline, EMBASE and COCHRANE databases were searched to identify prospective monotherapy trials of ICIs from 2003 to November 2015. Paired reviewers selected studies for inclusion and extracted data. Odds ratio (OR),χ2 tests and multivariable regression models were used to analyse for effect size and associations.
We identified 48 trials (6938 patients), including 26 CTLA-4, 17 PD-1, 2 PD-L1 trials, and 3 studies tested both CTLA-4 and PD-1. Grade 3/4 irAE were more common with CTLA-4 mAbs compared with PD-1 (31% versus 10%). All grades colitis (OR 8.7, 95% CI 5.8–12.9), hypophysitis (OR 6.5, 95% CI 3.0–14.3) and rash (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.8–2.3) were more frequent with CTLA-4 mAbs; whereas pneumonitis (OR 6.4, 95% CI 3.2–12.7), hypothyroidism (OR 4.3, 95% CI 2.9–6.3), arthralgia (OR 3.5, 95% CI 2.6–4.8) and vitiligo (OR 3.5, 95% CI 2.3–5.3) were more common with PD-1 mAbs. Comparison of irAE from the three most studied tumour types in PD-1 mAbs trials melanoma (n = 2048), non-small-cell lung cancer (n = 1030) and renal cell carcinoma (n = 573) showed melanoma patients had a higher frequency of gastrointestinal and skin irAE and lower frequency of pneumonitis.
CTLA-4 and PD-1 mAbs have distinct irAE profiles. Different immune microenvironments may drive histology-specific irAE patterns. Other tumour-dependent irAE profiles may be identified as data emerge from ICI trials.
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