A series of novel shape memory and self-healing composites of natural rubber (NR) and polycyclooctene (PCO) were designed using a simple physical blending method. These two polymers were selected ...with the intent of introducing network flexibility and mobility into the prepared blends. The mechanical, curing, thermal, shape memory, and thermally assisted self-healing properties of the NR/PCO composites were investigated in this study. In these composites, the crosslinked network generated in both the NR and PCO portions acted as a fixed phase, while the crystalline regions of the PCO portions acted as a reversible phase in the shape memory behavior. The composites showed self-healing properties at an elevated temperature (90 °C), which was attributed to molecular chain interdiffusion processes. Shape memory and thermally assisted self-healing properties were improved by increasing polycyclooctene content. The NR/PCO showed superior mechanical, shape memory, and self-healing properties (Rf = 94.57%, Rr = 98.92% and healing efficiency = 19.03%) when the blending ratio was 50/80. Due to these superior properties, this kind of natural rubber-based composites may have the potential to be used in intelligent and thermal-response shape memory fields.
This paper adopts the lens of management's self-interest motives to explore the potential influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its distinct dimensions on the risk of stock price ...crashes. Our findings reveal that CSR performance can effectively reduce the likelihood of future stock price crashes. Notably, the principal source of this risk mitigation stems from the dimensions of environmental responsibility and stakeholder responsibility, while the dimension of social responsibility does not exhibit a statistically significant effect on this phenomenon. We further find undervalued companies are able to benefit more from CSR and its various dimensions in terms of crash risk mitigation. Finally, we adopt the difference-in-difference test to discern the underlying mechanisms. Our research highlights that CSR, particularly environmental responsibility and stakeholder responsibility, contributes to the reduction of inefficient investments, deters management from selling shares, and curbs online platform manipulation, ultimately leading to a decreased risk of stock price crashes.
•CSR performance mitigates crash risks, and this influence is mainly driven by the governance and environmental dimensions.•Undervalued firms are better able to benefit from the role of CSR and its different dimensions in reducing crashes.•Reducing inefficient investment, management selling, and online platform interaction manipulation are important channels.
Aim
The aim of this study was to screen potential lotus plant endophytic bacterial isolate for effective inhibition against lotus rot causing fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum.
Methods and Results
...In this study, endophytic bacteria were isolated from lotus tissues and tested for antagonistic activities against the pathogenic fungus F. oxysporum. Among the putative endophytic Bacillus strains identified, suspensions of the strain B‐36 showed the highest inhibition rate against F. oxysporum growth. Pot assays indicated that B‐36 was effective in controlling F. oxysporum‐inducing lotus rot. However, the control efficiency varied with the inoculation method and concentration, where injection of 800 μl B‐36 suspension per plant (2 × 108 CFU per ml) into stems showed the highest control efficiencies of 77·1 and 60·0% for pre‐inoculation and post‐inoculation. In addition, the colonizing population levels (CPLs) of B‐36 on lotus also varied with the inoculation method and concentration, with the highest CPLs, that is, 3·05 and 2·83 log(CFU per gram), being observed on lotus leaves and stems respectively for stem injection of 200 μl per plant. Moreover B‐36 showed no noticeable effects on lotus seed germination rate or seedling growth. Finally, B‐36 was characterized as Bacillus velezensis based on its morphology, Gram‐positive characteristics, as well as its 16S rDNA and gyrB sequences.
Conclusion
The isolate B‐36 can be applied as a biocontrol agent against F. oxysporum‐inducing lotus rot.
Significance of Impact of the Study
The soil‐borne fungus F. oxysporum causes lotus rot and severe yield loss, and currently available control methods are very limited. Here we identify a new promising biocontrol agent against lotus rot caused by F. oxysporum.
The paper systematically study topological superconducting (TSC) phases in monolayer NbSe2 by constructing the hybrid paring tight-binding model of mixing on-site s-wave pairing (ps) and long-range ...pairing (pA1) for the first time. We observe rich phases with both fixed and sensitive Chern numbers (CNs) depending on the chemical potential (μ) and out-of-plane magnetic field (Vz). As pA1 increases, the TSC phase manifests matching and mismatching features according to whether the CNs match with the number of topological edge states (TESs). Strikingly, the introduction of long-range pairing significantly reduces the critical Vz to form TSC phases compared with the pure on-site s-wave paring. Moreover, the TSC phases can be modulated even at Vz = 0 under appropriate μ and pA1, which is identified by the robust TESs of ribbons. Additionally, the long-range pairing influences the hybridization of bulk and edge states, resulting in a matching/mismatching bulk-boundary correspondence with localized/oscillating TESs on the ribbons. Our findings are helpful for realizing TSC states through compressive strain experimentally to strengthen long-range pairings, as well as designing and regulating TSC materials.
Summary
The family Anelloviridae includes a number of viruses infecting humans (Torque teno viruses, TTV) and other animals including swine (Torque teno sus viruses, TTSuV). Two genetically distinct ...TTSuV species have been identified from swine thus far (TTSuV1 and TTSuVk2), although their definitive association with disease remains debatable. In 2012, a novel TTSuV species was identified from commercial swine serum and classified in the genus Kappatorquevirus as TTSuVk2b. The other Kappatorquevirus species, TTSuVk2a, has been associated with post‐weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) when coinfected with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). Therefore, in this study, we initially amplified a portion of TTSuVk2b ORF1 and, subsequently, assessed the molecular prevalence of the virus in pigs in the United States. A total of 127 serum and 115 tissue samples were obtained from pigs with PMWS or mulberry heart disease (MHD) in six states and tested by PCR for the presence of TTSuVk2b DNA. Approximately 27.6% of the serum and 21.7% of tissue samples tested positive for TTSuVk2b DNA, and the positive products were confirmed by sequencing. However, we did not detect a correlation between TTSuVk2b infection and PMWS or MHD. The near full‐length genomic sequence of US TTSuVk2b was determined, and sequence analysis revealed that the US TTSuVk2b isolates were 95% identical to the TTSuVk2b isolate from Spain, with most of the variations clustering in ORF1. We conclude that the novel TTSuVk2b species is present in pigs in the United States and its potential association with a disease warrants further investigation.
Two pairs of positive-and negative-parity doublet bands together with eight strong electric dipole transitions linking their yrast positive- and negative-parity bands have been identified in ^{78}Br. ...They are interpreted as multiple chiral doublet bands with octupole correlations, which is supported by the microscopic multidimensionally-constrained covariant density functional theory and triaxial particle rotor model calculations. This observation reports the first example of chiral geometry in octupole soft nuclei.
Whether seeds germinate or maintain dormancy is decided upon through very intricate physiological processes. Correct timing of these processes is most important for the plants life cycle. If moist ...conditions are encountered, a low dormancy level causes pre-harvest sprouting in various crop species, such as wheat, corn and rice, this decreases crop yield and negatively impacts downstream industrial processing. In contrast, a deep level of seed dormancy prevents normal germination even under favourable conditions, resulting in a low emergence rate during agricultural production. Therefore, an optimal seed dormancy level is valuable for modern mechanised agricultural systems. Over the past several years, numerous studies have demonstrated that diverse endogenous and environmental factors regulate the balance between dormancy and germination, such as light, temperature, water status and bacteria in soil, and phytohormones such as ABA (abscisic acid) and GA (gibberellic acid). In this updated review, we highlight recent advances regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying regulation of seed dormancy and germination processes, including the external environmental and internal hormonal cues, and primarily focusing on the staple crop species. Furthermore, future challenges and research directions for developing a full understanding of crop seed dormancy and germination are also discussed.
Xanthomonas albilineans is the causal agent of leaf scald, a disease that can cause considerable damage to sugarcane industries. This study analysed the phylogenetic relationship of 14 samples of ...X. albilineans from China and 13 reference strains retrieved from the GenBank database by multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA). To reach this goal, five housekeeping genes of X. albilineans were amplified from diseased leaves and sequenced: gyrB, abc, rpoD, atpD and glnA. Based on the concatenated sequence of these genes (4473 nt), the 14 samples of X. albilineans from China had 99.9–100% sequence identity with one another and with five strains of the pathogen from the French West Indies and the USA (Florida). The 27 samples or strains of X. albilineans were distributed in two distinct clades in the MLSA‐based phylogenetic tree. Clade 1 was formed by four strains of the pathogen from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the USA. All the other strains from worldwide locations, including the 14 samples from China, were grouped in clade 2. This latter clade included all strains of the pathogen that were associated with outbreaks of leaf scald that have occurred over the last two decades, especially in the Caribbean islands and the USA. The very low diversity of X. albilineans in four Chinese provinces suggests recent spread of a single strain (from genetic group PFGE‐B) of the leaf scald pathogen within China.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of sulforaphane (SFN) on gefitinib-resistant cell lines with a T790 mutation (PC-9/AB11). The PC-9 and PC-9/AB11 cells were stained ...with H&E and visualized with a light microscope. The CCK-8 assay method was used to evaluate the antiproliferative activity of gefitinib and SFN on the cells. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were analyzed via flow cytometry. The cytotoxic interaction between the two drugs was evaluated in vitro using the combination index method, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins and alterations in the signaling pathways were determined by Western blot analysis. Compared to the PC-9 cells, the gefitinib-resistant PC-9/AB11 cells acquired a T790M mutation and had characteristics in accordance with EMT. The combination of gefitinib and SFN induced dose-dependent antiproliferative effects in the PC-9 and PC-9/AB11 cells, while both induced cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis only in the PC-9/AB11 cells. The synergistic effect in the PC-9/AB11 cells was associated with this drug combination, as it caused an expression change of the epithelial (E-cadherin, claudin-1) and matrix proteins (vimentin, N-cadherin) in the cells, related to the reversal of EMT, as well as an expression change of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), p-EGFR, p-AKT, and p-ERK proteins. In this study, SFN overcame T790M-mediated gefitinib resistance in vitro through EMT. Thus, a combination of gefitinib and SFN may be a beneficial treatment strategy for lung cancer patients with acquired resistance due to T790M mutation.
Environments experienced by parent ramets of clonal plants can potentially influence fitness of clonal offspring ramets. Such clonal parental effects may result from heritable epigenetic changes, ...such as DNA methylation, which can be removed by application of DNA de‐methylation agents such as 5‐azacytidine.
To test whether parental shading effects occur via clonal generation and whether DNA methylation plays a role in such effects, parent plants of the clonal herb Alternanthera philoxeroides were first subjected to two levels of light intensity (high versus low) crossed with two levels of DNA de‐methylation (no or with de‐methylation by application of 5‐azacytidine), and then clonal offspring taken from each of these four types of parent plant were subjected to the same two light levels.
Parental shading effects transmitted via clonal generation decreased growth and modified morphology of clonal offspring. Offspring responses were also influenced by DNA methylation level of parent plants. For clonal offspring growing under low light, parental shading effects on growth and morphology were always negative, irrespective of the parental de‐methylation treatment. For clonal offspring growing under high light, parental shading effects on offspring growth and morphology were negative when the parents were not treated with 5‐azacytidine, but neutral when they were treated with 5‐azacytidine.
Overall, parental shading effects on clonal offspring performance of A. philoxeroides were found, and DNA methylation is likely to be involved in such effects. However, parental shading effects contributed little to the tolerance of clonal offspring to shading.
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