The developmental dynamics of the sweet sorghum root transcriptome elucidate the differentiation of apoplastic barriers

Apoplastic barriers in the endodermis, such as Casparian strips and suberin lamellae, control the passage of water and minerals into the stele. Apoplastic barriers are thus thought to contribute to salt exclusion in salt-excluding plants such as sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). However, little is known about the genes involved in the development of the apoplastic barrier. Here, we identified candidate genes involved in Casparian strip and suberin lamella development in the roots of a sweet sorghum line (M-81E). Three distinct developmental regions (no differentiation, developing, and mature) were identified based on Casparian strip and suberin lamella staining in root cross sections. Sequencing of RNA extracted from these distinct sections identified key genes participating in the differentiation of the apoplastic barrier. The different sections were structurally distinct, presumably due to differences in gene expression. Genes controlling the phenylpropanoid pathway, fatty acid elongation, and fatty acid ω-hydroxylation appeared to be directly responsible for the formation of the apoplastic barrier. Our dataset elucidates the molecular processes underpinning apoplastic barrier development and provides a basis for future research on molecular mechanisms of apoplastic barrier formation and salt exclusion. Abbreviations: SHR, SHORTROOT; MYB, MYB DOMAIN PROTEIN; CIFs, Casparian strip integrity factors; CASP, Casparian strip domain proteins; PER, peroxidase; ESB1, ENHANCED SUBERIN1; CS, Casparian strip; RPKM, reads per kilobase per million reads; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; FDR, false discovery rate; GO, Gene Ontology; KEGG, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; RNA-seq, RNA sequencing; PAL, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase; CYP, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases; 4CL, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase; AAE5, ACYL-ACTIVATING ENZYME5; CCR, cinnamoyl CoA reductase; TKPR, TETRAKETIDE ALPHA-PYRONE REDUCTASE1; CAD, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase; HST, shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase; PMAT2, PHENOLIC GLUCOSIDE MALONYLTRANSFERASE2; CCOAOMT, caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase; KCS, β-ketoacyl-CoA synthase; CUT1, CUTICULAR PROTEIN1; DET2, 5-alpha-reductase; TAX, 3ʹ-N-debenzoyl-2ʹ-deoxytaxol N-benzoyltransferase; CER1, ECERIFERUM1; FAR, fatty acyl reductase; AF-CoA, alcohol-forming fatty acyl-CoA reductase; ABCG, ATP-binding cassette, subfamily G; ERF, ethylene-responsive transcription factor; HSF, heat stress transcription factor; NTF, NUCLEAR TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR Y SUBUNIT B-5; GPAT, glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase.</p

<i>In Situ</i> Observation of Morphological and Oxidation Level Degradation Processes within Ionic Liquid Post-treated PEDOT:PSS Thin Films upon Operation at High Temperatures

Organic thermoelectric thin films are investigated in terms of their stability at elevated operating temperatures. Therefore, the electrical conductivity of ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (EMIM DCA) post-treated poly­(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly­(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin films is measured over 4.5 h of heating at 50 or 100 °C for different EMIM DCA concentrations. The changes in the electrical performance are correlated with changes in the film morphology, as evidenced with in situ grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). Due to the overall increased PEDOT domain distances, the resulting impairment of the interdomain charge carrier transport directly correlates with the observed electrical conductivity decay. With in situ ultraviolet−visible (UV–Vis) measurements, a simultaneously occurring reduction of the PEDOT oxidation level is found to have an additional electrical conductivity lowering contribution due to the decrease of the charge carrier density. Finally, the observed morphology and oxidation level degradation is associated with the deterioration of the thermoelectric properties and hence a favorable operating temperature range is suggested for EMIM DCA post-treated PEDOT:PSS-based thermoelectrics

Additional file 3: of The long non-coding RNA Snhg3 is essential for mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency

Identified Snhg3 interacting proteins. (XLSX 26 kb

Additional file 2: of The long non-coding RNA Snhg3 is essential for mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency

siRNAs and primer sequences. (DOCX 18 kb

Additional file 1: of The long non-coding RNA Snhg3 is essential for mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency

Figure S1. Snhg3 affects apoptosis and proliferation in mESCs. a-b mESCs were transfected with siControl or siSnhg3 for 48 h, followed by Annexin V and PI staining. Representative results of flow cytometry (a) and the statistical analysis (b) showed that Snhg3 depletion resulted in less viable cells (Q3, Annexin V(−) and PI(−)) and more early apoptotic cells (Q4, Annexin V(+) and PI(−)).c The CCK-8 assay was used to evaluate the proliferation of Control or Snhg3 overexpressing mESCs for different time points. Data are presented as mean ± SD; n = 3, two-way ANOVA. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 for all panels. (TIF 16312 kb

Synergistic Effect of Dual Phases to Improve Lithium Storage Properties of Nb₂O₅

Niobium pentoxides (Nb2O5) present great potential as next-generation anode candidates due to exceptional lithium-ion intercalation kinetics, considerably high capacity, and reasonable redox potential. Although four phases of Nb2O5 including hexagonal, orthorhombic, tetragonal, and monoclinic polymorphs show diverse characteristics in electrochemical performance, stable lifetime, high specific capacity, and fast intercalation properties cannot be delivered simultaneously with a single phase. Herein, this issue is addressed by generating a homogeneous mixture of orthorhombic and monoclinic crystals at the nanoscale. Reversible lithium-ion intercalation/deintercalation of the monoclinic phase is achieved, and exceptional lithium storage sites are created at the interface of the two phases. As a result, electrochemical features of stable lifetime from the orthorhombic phase and high specific performance from the monoclinic phase are harmoniously combined. This dual-phase Nb2O5/C nanohybrids deliver as high as 380 mA h g–1 (0.01–3.0 V) and 184 mA h g–1 (1.0–3.0 V) after 200 cycles. The essential principle of property enhancement is further confirmed through in situ XRD measurements and DFT calculations. The dual-phase concept can be further applied on electrodes with multiphases to achieve high electrochemical performance

MOESM1 of Rationale and design of the Henan ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) registry: a regional STEMI project in predominantly rural central China

Additional file 1. Full list of hospitals in the Henan STEMI registr

Microstrain and Crystal Orientation Variation within Naked Triple-Cation Mixed Halide Perovskites under Heat, UV, and Visible Light Exposure

The instability of perovskite absorbers under various environmental stressors is the most significant obstacle to widespread commercialization of perovskite solar cells. Herein, we study the evolution of crystal structure and microstrain present in naked triple-cation mixed CsMAFA-based perovskite films under heat, UV, and visible light (1 Sun) conditions by grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS). We find that the microstrain is gradient distributed along the surface normal of the films, decreasing from the upper surface to regions deeper within the film. Moreover, heat, UV, and visible light treatments do not interfere with the crystalline orientations within annealed polycrystalline films. However, when subjected to heat, the naked perovskite films exhibit a rapid component decomposition, induced by phase separation and ion migration. Conversely, under exposure to UV and 1 Sun light soaking, the naked perovskite films undergo a self-optimization structure evolution during degradation and develop into smoother films with reduced surface potential fluctuations

Morphological Insights into the Degradation of Perovskite Solar Cells under Light and Humidity

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved competitive power conversion efficiencies compared with established solar cell technologies. However, their operational stability under different external stimuli is limited, and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In particular, an understanding of degradation mechanisms from a morphology perspective during device operation is missing. Herein, we investigate the operational stability of PSCs with CsI bulk modification and a CsI-modified buried interface under AM 1.5G illumination and 75 ± 5% relative humidity, respectively, and concomitantly probe the morphology evolution with grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. We find that volume expansion within perovskite grains, induced by water incorporation, initiates the degradation of PSCs under light and humidity and leads to the degradation of device performance, in particular, the fill factor and short-circuit current. However, PSCs with modified buried interface degrade faster, which is ascribed to grain fragmentation and increased grain boundaries. In addition, we reveal a slight lattice expansion and PL redshifts in both PSCs after exposure to light and humidity. Our detailed insights from a buried microstructure perspective on the degradation mechanisms under light and humidity are essential for extending the operational stability of PSCs