A multicell structural battery composite laminate

Multifunctional materials facilitate lightweight and slender structural solutions for numerous applications. In transportation, construction materials that can act as a battery, and store electrical energy, will contribute to realization of highly energy efficient vehicles and aircraft. Herein, a multicell structural battery composite laminate, with three state-of-the-art structural battery composite cells connected in series is demonstrated. The experimental results show that the capacity of the structural battery composite cells is only moderately affected by tensile loading up to 0.36% strain. The multicell structural battery laminate is made embedding the three connected structural battery composite cells between carbon fiber/glass fiber composite face sheets. Electrochemical performance of the multicell structural battery is demonstrated experimentally. High charge transfer resistance for the pack as well as the individual cells is reported. Mechanical performance of the structural battery laminate is estimated by classical laminate theory. Computed engineering in-plane moduli for the multicell structural battery laminate are on par with conventional glass fiber composite multiaxial laminates

Simple and Effective Relation-based Embedding Propagation for Knowledge Representation Learning

Relational graph neural networks have garnered particular attention to encode graph context in knowledge graphs (KGs). Although they achieved competitive performance on small KGs, how to efficiently and effectively utilize graph context for large KGs remains an open problem. To this end, we propose the Relation-based Embedding Propagation (REP) method. It is a post-processing technique to adapt pre-trained KG embeddings with graph context. As relations in KGs are directional, we model the incoming head context and the outgoing tail context separately. Accordingly, we design relational context functions with no external parameters. Besides, we use averaging to aggregate context information, making REP more computation-efficient. We theoretically prove that such designs can avoid information distortion during propagation. Extensive experiments also demonstrate that REP has significant scalability while improving or maintaining prediction quality. Notably, it averagely brings about 10% relative improvement to triplet-based embedding methods on OGBL-WikiKG2 and takes 5%-83% time to achieve comparable results as the state-of-the-art GC-OTE.Comment: Accepted by IJCAI 202

The role of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress

Diabetic nephropathy (DN), a prevalent microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, is the primary contributor to end-stage renal disease in developed countries. Existing clinical interventions for DN encompass lifestyle modifications, blood glucose regulation, blood pressure reduction, lipid management, and avoidance of nephrotoxic medications. Despite these measures, a significant number of patients progress to end-stage renal disease, underscoring the need for additional therapeutic strategies. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, a cellular defense mechanism in eukaryotic cells, has been implicated in DN pathogenesis. Moderate ER stress can enhance cell survival, whereas severe or prolonged ER stress may trigger apoptosis. As such, the role of ER stress in DN presents a potential avenue for therapeutic modulation. Chinese herbal medicine, a staple in Chinese healthcare, has emerged as a promising intervention for DN. Existing research suggests that some herbal remedies may confer renoprotective benefits through the modulation of ER stress. This review explores the involvement of ER stress in the pathogenesis of DN and the advancements in Chinese herbal medicine for ER stress regulation, aiming to inspire new clinical strategies for the prevention and management of DN

Risk expectation from trade protectionism and firm innovation strategies: Theory and evidence from China

In this study, we construct a new measurement of a firm's trade risk expectation. We investigate how exporters’ innovation strategies respond to trade protection and their risk expectation by studying the global anti-dumping investigations against China. Specifically, using information on targeted products, we identify the trade risk level of each firm. We then develop a theoretical model to analyze how a multi-product firm adjusts its innovation strategies by its trade risk expectation when affected by anti-dumping measures, and the spillover effects of trade risk expectation on the firm's innovation strategies. This model predicts that first, affected firms will increase their R&D investment and innovation output in response to the increase of trade risk. Second, firms are more likely to choose high-quality innovation when their trade risk expectations increase. Third, for unaffected firms, an increase in trade risk expectation will lead to a growth in their innovation outputs. These predictions are aligned with the Chinese data, which are matched with an anti-dumping dataset from the Global Anti-dumping Database and several firm-level datasets. After changing the definition of trade risk expectation, excluding the cases also affected by countervailing measures and those with a zero anti-dumping tax rate, our results remain constant. This gives us further confidence that exporters with higher trade risks are more responsive to trade protection

The cAMP-PKA Signaling Pathway Regulates Pathogenicity, Hyphal Growth, Appressorial Formation, Conidiation, and Stress Tolerance in Colletotrichum higginsianum

Colletotrichum higginsianum is an economically important pathogen that causes anthracnose disease in a wide range of cruciferous crops. Understanding the mechanisms of the cruciferous plant–C. higginsianum interactions will be important in facilitating efficient control of anthracnose diseases. The cAMP-PKA signaling pathway plays important roles in diverse physiological processes of multiple pathogens. C. higginsianum contains two genes, ChPKA1 and ChPKA2, that encode the catalytic subunits of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). To analyze the role of cAMP signaling pathway in pathogenicity and development in C. higginsianum, we characterized ChPKA1 and ChPKA2 genes, and adenylate cyclase (ChAC) gene. The ChPKA1 and ChAC deletion mutants were unable to cause disease and significantly reduced in hyphal growth, tolerance to cell wall inhibitors, conidiation, and appressorial formation with abnormal germ tubes, but they had an increased tolerance to elevated temperatures and exogenous H2O2. In contrast, the ChPKA2 mutant had no detectable alteration of phenotypes, suggesting that ChPKA1 contributes mainly to PKA activities in C. higginsianum. Moreover, we failed to generate ΔChPKA1ChPKA2 double mutant, indicating that deletion of both PKA catalytic subunits is lethal in C. higginsianum and the two catalytic subunits possibly have overlapping functions. These results indicated that ChPKA1 is the major PKA catalytic subunit in cAMP-PKA signaling pathway and plays significant roles in hyphal growth, pathogenicity, appressorial formation, conidiation, and stress tolerance in C. higginsianum

Adaptive Response and Transcriptomic Analysis of Flax (<i>Linum usitatissimum</i> L.) Seedlings to Salt Stress

Soil salinity constrains agricultural development in arid regions. Flax is an economically important crop in many countries, and screening or breeding salinity-resistant flax cultivars is necessary. Based on the previous screening of flaxseed cultivars C71 (salt-sensitive) and C116 (salt-tolerant) as test materials, flax seedlings stressed with different concentrations of NaCl (0, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mmol/L) for 21 days were used to investigate the effects of salt stress on the growth characteristics, osmotic regulators, and antioxidant capacity of these flax seedlings and to reveal the adaptive responses of flax seedlings to salt stress. The results showed that plant height and root length of flax were inhibited, with C116 showing lower growth than C71. The concentrations of osmotic adjustment substances such as soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and proline were higher in the resistant material, C116, than in the sensitive material, C71, under different concentrations of salt stress. Consistently, C116 showed a better rapid scavenging ability for reactive oxygen species (ROS) and maintained higher activities of antioxidant enzymes to balance salt injury stress by inhibiting growth under salt stress. A transcriptome analysis of flax revealed that genes related to defense and senescence were significantly upregulated, and genes related to the growth and development processes were significantly downregulated under salt stress. Our results indicated that one of the important adaptations to tolerance to high salt stress is complex physiological remediation by rapidly promoting transcriptional regulation in flax

GmLecRlk, a Lectin Receptor-like Protein Kinase, Contributes to Salt Stress Tolerance by Regulating Salt-Responsive Genes in Soybean

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is an important oil crop that provides valuable resources for human consumption, animal feed, and biofuel. Through the transcriptome analysis in our previous study, GmLecRlk (Glyma.07G005700) was identified as a salt-responsive candidate gene in soybean. In this study, qRT-PCR analysis showed that the GmLecRlk gene expression level was significantly induced by salt stress and highly expressed in soybean roots. The pCAMBIA3300-GmLecRlk construct was generated and introduced into the soybean genome by Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Compared with the wild type (WT), GmLecRlk overexpressing (GmLecRlk-ox) soybean lines had significantly enhanced fresh weight, proline (Pro) content, and catalase (CAT) activity, and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2 content under salt stress. These results show that GmLecRlk gene enhanced ROS scavenging ability in response to salt stress in soybean. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that GmLecRlk gene also conferred soybean salt tolerance when it was overexpressed alone in soybean hairy root. Furthermore, the combination of RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analysis was used to determine that GmLecRlk improves the salt tolerance of soybean by upregulating GmERF3, GmbHLH30, and GmDREB2 and downregulating GmGH3.6, GmPUB8, and GmLAMP1. Our research reveals a new mechanism of salt resistance in soybean, which exposes a novel avenue for the cultivation of salt-resistant varieties

Comparative Genomics Analysis of Two Different Virulent Bovine Pasteurella multocida Isolates

The Pasteurella multocida capsular type A isolates can cause pneumonia and bovine respiratory disease (BRD). In this study, comparative genomics analysis was carried out to identify the virulence genes in two different virulent P. multocida capsular type A isolates (high virulent PmCQ2 and low virulent PmCQ6). The draft genome sequence of PmCQ2 is 2.32 Mbp and contains 2,002 protein-coding genes, 9 insertion sequence (IS) elements, and 1 prophage region. The draft genome sequence of PmCQ6 is 2.29 Mbp and contains 1,970 protein-coding genes, 2 IS elements, and 3 prophage regions. The genome alignment analysis revealed that the genome similarity between PmCQ2 and PmCQ6 is 99% with high colinearity. To identify the candidate genes responsible for virulence, the PmCQ2 and PmCQ6 were compared together with that of the published genomes of high virulent Pm36950 and PmHN06 and avirulent Pm3480 and Pm70 (capsular type F). Five genes and two insertion sequences are identified in high virulent strains but not in low virulent or avirulent strains. These results indicated that these genes or insertion sequences might be responsible for the virulence of P. multocida, providing prospective candidates for further studies on the pathogenesis and the host-pathogen interactions of P. multocida

A Nuclear Factor Y-B Transcription Factor, <i>GmNFYB17</i>, Regulates Resistance to Drought Stress in Soybean

Soybean is sensitive to drought stress, and increasing tolerance to drought stresses is an important target for improving the performance of soybean in the field. The genetic mechanisms underlying soybean’s drought tolerance remain largely unknown. Via a genome-wide association study (GWAS) combined with linkage analysis, we identified 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 22 quantitative trait locus (QTLs) that are significantly associated with soybean drought tolerance. One of these loci, namely qGI10-1, was co-located by GWAS and linkage mapping. The two intervals of qGI10-1 were differentiated between wild and cultivated soybean. A nuclear factor Y transcription factor, GmNFYB17, was located in one of the differentiated regions of qGI10-1 and thus selected as a candidate gene for further analyses. The analysis of 29 homologous genes of GmNFYB17 in soybean showed that most of the genes from this family were involved in drought stress. The over-expression of GmNFYB17 in soybean enhanced drought resistance and yield accumulation. The transgenic plants grew better than control under limited water conditions and showed a lower degree of leaf damage and MDA content but higher RWC, SOD activity and proline content compared with control. Moreover, the transgenic plants showed a fast-growing root system, especially regarding a higher root–top ratio and more branching roots and lateral roots. The better agronomic traits of yield were also found in GmNFYB17 transgenic plants. Thus, the GmNFYB17 gene was proven to positively regulate drought stress resistance and modulate root growth in soybean. These results provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance in soybean