Virus-induced gene complementation reveals a transcription factor network in modulation of tomato fruit ripening

Plant virus technology, in particular virus-induced gene silencing, is a widely used reverse- and forward-genetics tool in plant functional genomics. However the potential of virus technology to express genes to induce phenotypes or to complement mutants in order to understand the function of plant genes is not well documented. Here we exploit Potato virus X as a tool for virus-induced gene complementation (VIGC). Using VIGC in tomato, we demonstrated that ectopic viral expression of LeMADS-RIN, which encodes a MADS-box transcription factor (TF), resulted in functional complementation of the non-ripening rin mutant phenotype and caused fruits to ripen. Comparative gene expression analysis indicated that LeMADS-RIN up-regulated expression of the SBP-box (SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein-like) gene LeSPL-CNR, but down-regulated the expression of LeHB-1, an HD-Zip homeobox TF gene. Our data support the hypothesis that a transcriptional network may exist among key TFs in the modulation of fruit ripening in tomato

Multiple mesodermal lineage differentiation of Apodemus sylvaticus embryonic stem cells in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Embryonic stem (ES) cells have attracted significant attention from researchers around the world because of their ability to undergo indefinite self-renewal and produce derivatives from the three cell lineages, which has enormous value in research and clinical applications. Until now, many ES cell lines of different mammals have been established and studied. In addition, recently, AS-ES1 cells derived from <it>Apodemus sylvaticus </it>were established and identified by our laboratory as a new mammalian ES cell line. Hence further research, in the application of AS-ES1 cells, is warranted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Herein we report the generation of multiple mesodermal AS-ES1 lineages via embryoid body (EB) formation by the hanging drop method and the addition of particular reagents and factors for induction at the stage of EB attachment. The AS-ES1 cells generated separately in vitro included: adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes and cardiomyocytes. Histochemical staining, immunofluorescent staining and RT-PCR were carried out to confirm the formation of multiple mesodermal lineage cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The appropriate reagents and culture milieu used in mesodermal differentiation of mouse ES cells also guide the differentiation of in vitro AS-ES1 cells into distinct mesoderm-derived cells. This study provides a better understanding of the characteristics of AS-ES1 cells, a new species ES cell line and promotes the use of Apodemus ES cells as a complement to mouse ES cells in future studies.</p

Successful management of tracheal lobular capillary hemangioma with arterial embolization followed by electrosurgical snaring via flexible bronchoscopy in an 11-year-old boy: A case report and literature review

Lobular capillary hemangioma (LCH), previously known as pyogenic granuloma, is a benign vascular lesion commonly found within the oral and nasal cavities. However, it is rarely encountered within the trachea, especially in pediatric patients, where it manifests as hemoptysis, cough, and wheeze, and is frequently misdiagnosed as bronchitis or asthma. There is limited literature on the presentation, behavior, and management of tracheal LCH. Herein, we describe a rare case of tracheal LCH in an 11-year-old boy with a history of hemoptysis, which was successfully managed with arterial embolization followed by electrocautery loop snaring via flexible bronchoscopy. No complications occurred during and after the procedure. A review of the relevant literature is also provided. Our case is unique, given the therapeutic strategy utilized for pediatric tracheal LCH, and reminds physicians to be aware of tracheal LCH in the differential diagnosis for hemoptysis

Efficient and bright warm-white electroluminescence from lead-free metal halides.

Solution-processed metal-halide perovskites are emerging as one of the most promising materials for displays, lighting and energy generation. Currently, the best-performing perovskite optoelectronic devices are based on lead halides and the lead toxicity severely restricts their practical applications. Moreover, efficient white electroluminescence from broadband-emission metal halides remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate efficient and bright lead-free LEDs based on cesium copper halides enabled by introducing an organic additive (Tween, polyethylene glycol sorbitan monooleate) into the precursor solutions. We find the additive can reduce the trap states, enhancing the photoluminescence quantum efficiency of the metal halide films, and increase the surface potential, facilitating the hole injection and transport in the LEDs. Consequently, we achieve warm-white LEDs reaching an external quantum efficiency of 3.1% and a luminance of 1570 cd m-2 at a low voltage of 5.4 V, showing great promise of lead-free metal halides for solution-processed white LED applications

FE modeling of a complete warm-bending process for optimal design of heating stages for the forming of large-diameter thin-walled Ti–6Al–4V tubes

Warm rotary draw bending (WRDB) of large-diameter thin-walled (LDTW) Ti–6Al–4V tube is a multi-nonlinear thermo-mechanical coupled process. Due to the high-cost, energy-wasting and long-term, the traditional physical experiments based on “trial and error” are no longer suitable for the WRBD process. Considering the non-uniform local heating and multi-tool constraints, a thermal–mechanical coupled 3D FE model of complete WRDB process for LDTW Ti–6Al–4V tube is established on ABAQUS as heating-bending-unloading three-stage. The FE models could predict the overall temperature distribution, describe thermo-mechanical bending deformation considering a modified Johnson–Cook model, and simulate the heating-bending-springback-cooling process. On that basis, the temperature distributions on both tube and dies under various heating schemes are compared, and the optimal heating scheme is determined on the basis of forming quality and efficiency. Combined with the experiments of WRDB, the optimal heating scheme and the established FE models are verified. In conclusion, the FE simulation provides a replacement of physical experiment and a convenient method of deformation prediction for WRDB of LDTW Ti–6Al–4V tube

Secrets of RLHF in Large Language Models Part I: PPO

Large language models (LLMs) have formulated a blueprint for the advancement of artificial general intelligence. Its primary objective is to function as a human-centric (helpful, honest, and harmless) assistant. Alignment with humans assumes paramount significance, and reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) emerges as the pivotal technological paradigm underpinning this pursuit. Current technical routes usually include \textbf{reward models} to measure human preferences, \textbf{Proximal Policy Optimization} (PPO) to optimize policy model outputs, and \textbf{process supervision} to improve step-by-step reasoning capabilities. However, due to the challenges of reward design, environment interaction, and agent training, coupled with huge trial and error cost of large language models, there is a significant barrier for AI researchers to motivate the development of technical alignment and safe landing of LLMs. The stable training of RLHF has still been a puzzle. In the first report, we dissect the framework of RLHF, re-evaluate the inner workings of PPO, and explore how the parts comprising PPO algorithms impact policy agent training. We identify policy constraints being the key factor for the effective implementation of the PPO algorithm. Therefore, we explore the PPO-max, an advanced version of PPO algorithm, to efficiently improve the training stability of the policy model. Based on our main results, we perform a comprehensive analysis of RLHF abilities compared with SFT models and ChatGPT. The absence of open-source implementations has posed significant challenges to the investigation of LLMs alignment. Therefore, we are eager to release technical reports, reward models and PPO code

Prescribing patterns of antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers in bipolar patients misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder in China

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94515/1/hup2262.pd

Measurements of J/psi Decays into 2(pi+pi-)eta and 3(pi+pi-)eta

Based on a sample of 5.8X 10^7 J/psi events taken with the BESII detector, the branching fractions of J/psi--> 2(pi+pi-)eta and J/psi-->3(pi+pi-)eta are measured for the first time to be (2.26+-0.08+-0.27)X10^{-3} and (7.24+-0.96+-1.11)X10^{-4}, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

BESII Detector Simulation

A Monte Carlo program based on Geant3 has been developed for BESII detector simulation. The organization of the program is outlined, and the digitization procedure for simulating the response of various sub-detectors is described. Comparisons with data show that the performance of the program is generally satisfactory.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, uses elsart.cls, to be submitted to NIM