Argonaute (AGO) proteins recruit small RNAs to form the core of RNAi effector complexes. Arabidopsis encodes ten AGO proteins and a large network of small RNAs. How these small RNAs are sorted into ...specific AGO complexes remains largely unknown. We have cataloged small RNAs resident in four AGO complexes. We found that AGO2 and AGO4 preferentially recruit small RNAs with a 5′ terminal adenosine, whereas AGO1 harbors microRNAs (miRNAs) that favor a 5′ terminal uridine. AGO5 predominantly binds small RNAs that initiate with cytosine. Changing the 5′ terminal nucleotide of an miRNA predictably redirected it into a different AGO complex and alters its biological activity. These results reveal a role for small RNA sequences in assorting among AGO complexes. This suggests that specialization of AGO complexes might involve remodeling the 5′ end-binding pocket to accept certain small RNA sequences, perhaps explaining the evolutionary drive for miRNAs to initiate with uridine.
Abstract
China has realized a 56-fold increase in installed wind capacity, from 5.9 GW in 2007 to 328 GW in 2021. In addition to increasing installed capacity, plans to substantially increase wind ...energy production for climate change mitigation also depend on future wind speeds, which strongly influences the efficiencies of installed turbines within individual wind farms. A reversal in globally decreasing wind speeds over several decades has been reported previously. However, subsequent studies using other data sources reported only a slight increase or no reversal in China. These uncertainties regarding China’s wind energy production hamper estimates of wind energy production potential. Here, our analysis of quality-controlled wind speed measurements from
in-situ
stations shows that the wind speed decline in China reversed significantly since 2012 (
P
< 0.001), but with substantial spatio-temporal variability. We further estimated the capacity factor (CF) growth and the wind power gain solely associated with the changes in wind speed ranges from 31.6 to 56.5 TWh yr
−1
based on the 2019 installed capacity. This estimate explains 22.0%–39.3% of the rapid increase in wind generation CF in China during 2012–2019. The result implies that the site selection of wind farms should consider both current wind situation and future wind speed trends. Further studies are needed to understand the driving factor of wind speed recovery in support of the wind energy industry.
A-plane InN film has been grown on r-plane sapphire substrate by MOCVD without any buffer. X-ray
ω/2
θ scan confirms that only wurtzite-type InN was grown. The in-plane orientation relationship ...between a-plane InN and r-plane sapphire is 〈0
0
0
1〉
InN//1¯
1
0
1
sapphire and 1¯
1
0
0
InN//1
1
2¯
0
sapphire deduced from selected area diffraction. Atomic force microscopy reveals that no stripe features appear on surface of the a-plane InN film, which is different from that of a-plane GaN grown on r-plane sapphire where stripes along 0
0
0
1 direction appear on the surface. The difference originates from the different growth mode of InN and GaN. In addition, photoluminescence and absorption spectra show that our a-plane InN has a narrow band gap of 0.7
eV, which is similar to that of c-plane InN film grown by the same system.
•Crystallization activation energy of the Ti-free BMG is larger than that of the BMGs (x = 0.2 and 0.4 at.%) but smaller than that of the BMGs (x = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 at.%).•Crystallization phases are ...ZrNi and Zr2Ni7 for the partially and fully crystallized BMGs.•Local crystallization activation energy decreases with increasing crystallization fraction.•Crystallization mechanism is nearly affected by the Ti addition and the heating rate.•Crystallization mechanism is nearly affected by the Ti addition and the annealling temperature.
The isochronal and isothermal crystallization characteristics of (Zr54Al10.2Ni9.4Cu26.4)100-xTix (x = 0∼0.5 at.%) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The isochronal crystallization indicates that both crystallization activation energy and local activation energy Eα of the Ti-free BMG are larger than those of the BMGs (x = 0.2 and 0.4), while smaller than those of the BMGs (x = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5). The isothermal crystallization shows that the Eαs decrease with increasing crystallization fraction for the first crystallization process and nearly maintain a constant for the second crystallization process. Moreover, the crystallization phases are ZrNi and Zr2Ni7 nanocrystals for the partially and/or fully crystallized BMGs in isochronal and isothermal cases. The crystallization mechanism nearly depends on the Ti content and the heating rate for the isochronal crystallization and the Ti content and the annealling temperature for the isothermal crystallization, respectively.
Three nearly degenerate pairs of doublet bands are identified in 131Ba. Two of them, with positive-parity, are interpreted as pseudospin-chiral quartet bands. This is the first time that a complete ...set of chiral doublet bands built on the pseudospin partners π(d5/2,g7/2) is observed. The chiral bands with opposite parity built on 3-quasiparticle configurations are directly connected by many E1 transitions, without involving an intermediary non-chiral configuration. The observed band structures in 131Ba have been investigated by using the reflection-asymmetric particle rotor model. The energies and the electromagnetic transition ratios of the three pairs of doublet bands observed in 131Ba are reproduced and they are interpreted as chiral doublet bands with three-quasiparticle configurations. It is the first time that multiple chiral bands are observed in the presence of enhanced octupole correlations and pseudospin symmetry.
Although it is known that OCT4-NANOG are required for maintenance of pluripotent cells in vitro, the upstream signals that regulate this circuit during early development in vivo have not been ...identified. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3)-dependent regulation of the OCT4-NANOG circuitry necessary to maintain the pluripotent inner cell mass (ICM), the source of in vitro-derived embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We show that STAT3 is highly expressed in mouse oocytes and becomes phosphorylated and translocates to the nucleus in the four-cell and later stage embryos. Using leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif)-null embryos, we found that STAT3 phosphorylation is dependent on LIF in four-cell stage embryos. In blastocysts, interleukin 6 (IL-6) acts in an autocrine fashion to ensure STAT3 phosphorylation, mediated by janus kinase 1 (JAK1), a LIF- and IL-6-dependent kinase. Using genetically engineered mouse strains to eliminate Stat3 in oocytes and embryos, we firmly establish that STAT3 is essential for maintenance of ICM lineages but not for ICM and trophectoderm formation. Indeed, STAT3 directly binds to the Oct4 and Nanog distal enhancers, modulating their expression to maintain pluripotency of mouse embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. These results provide a novel genetic model of cell fate determination operating through STAT3 in the preimplantation embryo and pluripotent stem cells in vivo.
A thorough study has been made of the physical properties under high pressure of the perovskite BaRuO3 synthesized under pressure; it includes the critical behavior in the vicinity of Tc to 1 GPa and ...the temperature dependences of resistivity and ac magnetic susceptibility up to 8 GPa. The ferromagnetism in BaRuO3 is suppressed at 8 GPa. Critical fluctuations in the vicinity of Tc have been found in BaRuO3 and they are enhanced under pressure. These observations are in sharp contrast to SrRuO3 where mean-field behavior is found at Tc.
Previously, we have found that the ClC-3 chloride channel is involved in endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced rat aortic smooth muscle cell proliferation. The present study was to investigate the role of ...ClC-3 in cell cycle progression/distribution and the underlying mechanisms of proliferation.
Small interference RNA (siRNA) is used to silence ClC-3 expression. Cell proliferation, cell cycle distribution and protein expression were measured or detected with cell counting, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation, Western blot and flow cytometric assays respectively.
ET-1-induced rat basilar vascular smooth muscle cell (BASMC) proliferation was parallel to a significant increase in endogenous expression of ClC-3 protein. Silence of ClC-3 by siRNA inhibited expression of ClC-3 protein, prevented an increase in BrdU incorporation and cell number induced by ET-1. Silence of ClC-3 also caused cell cycle arrest in G(0)/G(1) phase and prevented the cells' progression from G(1) to S phase. Knockdown of ClC-3 potently inhibited cyclin D1 and cyclin E expression and increased cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs) p27(KIP) and p21(CIP) expression. Furthermore, ClC-3 knockdown significantly attenuated phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) induced by ET-1.
Silence of ClC-3 protein effectively suppressed phosphorylation of the Akt/GSK-3beta signal pathway, resulting in down-regulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin E, and up-regulation of p27(KIP) and p21(CIP). In these BASMCs, integrated effects lead to cell cycle G(1)/S arrest and inhibition of cell proliferation.
The provision of sufficient basal insulin to normalize fasting plasma glucose levels may reduce cardiovascular events, but such a possibility has not been formally tested.
We randomly assigned 12,537 ...people (mean age, 63.5 years) with cardiovascular risk factors plus impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or type 2 diabetes to receive insulin glargine (with a target fasting blood glucose level of ≤95 mg per deciliter 5.3 mmol per liter) or standard care and to receive n-3 fatty acids or placebo with the use of a 2-by-2 factorial design. The results of the comparison between insulin glargine and standard care are reported here. The coprimary outcomes were nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes and these events plus revascularization or hospitalization for heart failure. Microvascular outcomes, incident diabetes, hypoglycemia, weight, and cancers were also compared between groups.
The median follow-up was 6.2 years (interquartile range, 5.8 to 6.7). Rates of incident cardiovascular outcomes were similar in the insulin-glargine and standard-care groups: 2.94 and 2.85 per 100 person-years, respectively, for the first coprimary outcome (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.94 to 1.11; P=0.63) and 5.52 and 5.28 per 100 person-years, respectively, for the second coprimary outcome (hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.11; P=0.27). New diabetes was diagnosed approximately 3 months after therapy was stopped among 30% versus 35% of 1456 participants without baseline diabetes (odds ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.00; P=0.05). Rates of severe hypoglycemia were 1.00 versus 0.31 per 100 person-years. Median weight increased by 1.6 kg in the insulin-glargine group and fell by 0.5 kg in the standard-care group. There was no significant difference in cancers (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.13; P=0.97).
When used to target normal fasting plasma glucose levels for more than 6 years, insulin glargine had a neutral effect on cardiovascular outcomes and cancers. Although it reduced new-onset diabetes, insulin glargine also increased hypoglycemia and modestly increased weight. (Funded by Sanofi; ORIGIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00069784.).
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