Mapping and candidate-gene screening of the novel Turnip mosaic virus resistance gene retr02 in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L.)

The extreme resistance to Turnip mosaic virus observed in the Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) line, BP8407, is monogenic and recessive. Bulked segregant analysis was carried out to identify simple sequence repeat and Indel markers linked to this recessive resistance gene, termed recessive Turnip mosaic virus resistance 02 (retr02). Mapping of PCR-specific Indel markers on 239 individuals of a BP8407 × Ji Zao Chun F 2 population, located this resistance gene to a 0.9-cM interval between two Indel markers (BrID10694 and BrID101309) and in scaffold000060 or scaffold000104 on chromosome A04 of the B. rapa genome. Eleven eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and 14 eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) genes are predicted in the B. rapa genome. A candidate gene, Bra035393 on scaffold000104, was predicted within the mapped resistance locus. The gene encodes the eIF(iso)4E protein. Bra035393 was sequenced in BP8407 and Ji Zao Chun. A polymorphism (A/G) was found in exon 3 between BP8407 and Ji Zao Chun. This gene was analysed in four resistant and three susceptible lines. A correlation was observed between the amino acid substitution (Gly/Asp) in the eIF(iso)4E protein and resistance/susceptibility. eIF(iso)4E has been shown previously to interact with the TuMV genome-linked protein, VPg

Pathogenesis mechanism of Pestalotiopsis funerea toxin (Pf-toxin) on the plasmalemma of needle cells of different pine species

The Pf-toxin (C5H11O5N) has been genetically associated with the pathogenesis mechanism in plasmalemma cells of pine needles in previous reports. In this study, a toxin was obtained from Pestalotiopsis funerea (called Pf- toxin) by concentrating and column chromatography. Responses of the needles of eight pine species against the toxin were investigated. The O2- production rate, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, fatty acid composition, relative conductivity, and lesion length of the needles were determined. The severest damage and lipid peroxidation were exhibited by the needle plasmalemma of Pinus massoniana, Pinus yunnanensis, and Pinus tabuliformis. Pinus elliottii and Pinus taeda followed. Pinus armandi, Pinus radiata and Pinus thunbergii came last. The resistance capability of resistant species against the Pf-toxin precedes that of susceptible species. Keywords: Pestalotiopsis funerea, Pestalotia needle blight, Pinus, resistance. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7397-7407, 10 April, 201

6-Amino-4-(4-chloro­phen­yl)-2-oxo-1,2-dihydro­pyridine-3,5-dicarbonitrile ethanol solvate

The title compound, C13H7ClN4O·C2H6O, was synthesized by the reaction of 4-chloro­benzaldehyde, malononitrile and 10% sodium hydroxide solution in an aqueous medium. In the crystal structure, the crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular N—H⋯N, O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Activating More Information in Arbitrary-Scale Image Super-Resolution

Single-image super-resolution (SISR) has experienced vigorous growth with the rapid development of deep learning. However, handling arbitrary scales (e.g., integers, nonintegers, or asymmetric) using a single model remains a challenging task. Existing super-resolution (SR) networks commonly employ static convolutions during feature extraction, which cannoteffectively perceive changes in scales. Moreover, these continuous scale upsampling modules only utilize the scale factors, without considering the diversity of local features. To activate more information for better reconstruction, two plug-in and compatible modules for fixed-scale networks are designed to perform arbitrary-scale SR tasks. Firstly, we design a Scale-aware Local Feature Adaptation Module (SLFAM), which adaptively adjusts the attention weights of dynamic filters based on the local features and scales. It enables the network to possess stronger representation capabilities. Then we propose a Local Feature AdaptationUpsampling Module (LFAUM), which combines scales and local features to perform arbitrary-scale reconstruction. It allows the upsampling to adapt to local structures. Besides, deformable convolution is utilized letting more information to be activated in the reconstruction, enabling the network to better adapt to the texture features. Extensive experiments on various benchmark datasets demonstrate that integrating the proposed modules into a fixed-scale SR network enables it to achieve satisfactory results with non-integer or asymmetric scales while maintaining advanced performance with integer scales

Quasi-Solid-State Ion-Conducting Arrays Composite Electrolytes with Fast Ion Transport Vertical-Aligned Interfaces for All-Weather Practical Lithium-Metal Batteries

The rapid improvement in the gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) with high ionic conductivity brought it closer to practical applications in solid-state Li-metal batteries. The combination of solvent and polymer enables quasi-liquid fast ion transport in the GPEs. However, different ion transport capacity between solvent and polymer will cause local nonuniform Li$^+$ distribution, leading to severe dendrite growth. In addition, the poor thermal stability of the solvent also limits the operating-temperature window of the electrolytes. Optimizing the ion transport environment and enhancing the thermal stability are two major challenges that hinder the application of GPEs. Here, a strategy by introducing ion-conducting arrays (ICA) is created by vertical-aligned montmorillonite into GPE. Rapid ion transport on the ICA was demonstrated by $^6$Li solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, combined with computer simulations to visualize the transport process. Compared with conventional randomly dispersed fillers, ICA provides continuous interfaces to regulate the ion transport environment and enhances the tolerance of GPEs to extreme temperatures. Therefore, GPE/ICA exhibits high room-temperature ionic conductivity (1.08 mS cm$^{−1}$) and long-term stable Li deposition/stripping cycles (> 1000 h). As a final proof, Li||GPE/ICA||LiFePO$_4$ cells exhibit excellent cycle performance at wide temperature range (from 0 to 60 °C), which shows a promising path toward all-weather practical solid-state batteries

Phase boundary engineering of metal-organic-framework-derived carbonaceous nickel selenides for sodium-ion batteries

Abstract: Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are promising power sources due to the low cost and abundance of battery-grade sodium resources, while practical SIBs suffer from intrinsically sluggish diffusion kinetics and severe volume changes of electrode materials. Metal-organic framework (MOFs) derived carbonaceous metal compound offer promising applications in electrode materials due to their tailorable composition, nanostructure, chemical and physical properties. Here, we fabricated hierarchical MOF-derived carbonaceous nickel selenides with bi-phase composition for enhanced sodium storage capability. As MOF formation time increases, the pyrolyzed and selenized products gradually transform from a single-phase Ni3Se4 into bi-phase NiSex then single-phase NiSe2, with concomitant morphological evolution from solid spheres into hierarchical urchin-like yolk-shell structures. As SIBs anodes, bi-phase NiSex@C/CNT-10h (10 h of hydrothermal synthesis time) exhibits a high specific capacity of 387.1 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g, long cycling stability of 306.3 mAh/g at a moderately high current density of 1 A/g after 2,000 cycles. Computational simulation further proves the lattice mismatch at the phase boundary facilitates more interstitial space for sodium storage. Our understanding of the phase boundary engineering of transformed MOFs and their morphological evolution is conducive to fabricate novel composites/hybrids for applications in batteries, catalysis, sensors, and environmental remediation

Conversion mechanism of NiCo2Se4 nanotube sphere anodes for potassium-ion batteries

Given the abundance of potassium resources, potassium-ion batteries are considered a low-cost alternative to lithium-ion types. However, their electrochemical performance remains rather unsatisfactory because potassium ions have sluggish kinetics and large ionic radius. In this study, NiCo2Se4 nanotube spheres are synthesized as efficient potassium storage hosts via a facile two-step hydrothermal process. The rationally designed electrode has various ameliorating morphological and functional features, including the following: (i) A hollow structure allows for relief of the volume expansion while offering an excellent electrochemical reactivity to accelerate the conversion kinetics; (ii) a high electrical conductivity for enhanced electron transfer; and (iii) myriad vacancies to supply active sites for electrochemical reactions. As such, the electrode delivers an initial reversible capacity of 458.1 mAh g−1 and retains 346.6 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 0.03 A g−1. The electrode sustains a high capacity of 101.4 mAh g−1 even at a high current density of 5 A g−1 and outperforms the majority of state-of-the-art anodes in terms of both cyclic capacity and rate capability, especially at above 1.0 A g−1. This study not only proves bimetallic selenides are promising candidates for potassium storage devices but also offers new insight into the rational design of electrode materials for high-rate potassium-ion batteries

A global assessment of the impact of school closure in reducing COVID-19 spread.

Prolonged school closure has been adopted worldwide to control COVID-19. Indeed, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization figures show that two-thirds of an academic year was lost on average worldwide due to COVID-19 school closures. Such pre-emptive implementation was predicated on the premise that school children are a core group for COVID-19 transmission. Using surveillance data from the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Anqing together, we inferred that compared with the elderly aged 60 and over, children aged 18 and under and adults aged 19-59 were 75% and 32% less susceptible to infection, respectively. Using transmission models parametrized with synthetic contact matrices for 177 jurisdictions around the world, we showed that the lower susceptibility of school children substantially limited the effectiveness of school closure in reducing COVID-19 transmissibility. Our results, together with recent findings that clinical severity of COVID-19 in children is lower, suggest that school closure may not be ideal as a sustained, primary intervention for controlling COVID-19. This article is part of the theme issue 'Data science approach to infectious disease surveillance'