Room-temperature Tunable Fano Resonance by Chemical Doping in Few-layer Graphene Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition

A Fano-like phonon resonance is observed in few-layer (~3) graphene at room temperature using infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. This Fano resonance is the manifestation of a strong electron-phonon interaction between the discrete in-plane lattice vibrational mode and continuum electronic excitations in graphene. By employing ammonia chemical doping, we have obtained different Fano line shapes ranging from anti-resonance in hole-doped graphene to phonon-dominated in n-type graphene. The Fano resonance shows the strongest interference feature when the Fermi level is located near the Dirac point. The charged phonon exhibits much-enhanced oscillator strength and experiences a continuous red shift in frequency as electron density increases. It is suggested that the phonon couples to different electronic transitions as Fermi level is tuned by chemical doping.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Polygenic Basis and Variable Genetic Architectures Contribute to the Complex Nature of Body Weight —A Genome-Wide Study in Four Chinese Indigenous Chicken Breeds

Body weight (BW) is one of the most important economic traits for animal production and breeding, and it has been studied extensively for its phenotype–genotype associations. While mapping studies have mostly aimed at finding as many loci as possible that contributed to the variation in BW, the role of other factors in its genetic architecture, including their frequencies in the population and their interactions, have been largely overlooked. To comprehensively characterized the genetic architecture of BW, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) both at the single-marker and haplotype level on birds from four indigenous Chinese chicken breeds (Chahua, Silkie, Langshan, and Beard), rather than studying crosses between two founder lines. Additionally, samples from two more breeds (Red Junglefowl and Recessive White) were included to better reflect variable genetic characteristics across populations. Six loci were mapped in this study, revealing the polygenic basis underlying BW. Moreover, by further examining the frequencies of the significantly associated haplotypes in each subpopulation and their effect sizes, most of the loci were found to affect BW in the Beard chicken breed alone. Two loci in GGA9 and GGA27, however, had a common effect on BW across subpopulations, showing that different underlying genetic mechanisms contribute to the phenotypic variability. These findings, particularly the variable genetic architectures found in different loci, improve our understanding of the overall genetic contributions to the large variability in BW among Chinese indigenous chicken breeds. These findings thus will have important implications for future chicken breeding

A Mode-Sum Prescription for Vacuum Polarization in Even Dimensions

We present a mode-sum regularization prescription for computing the vacuum polarization of a scalar field in static spherically-symmetric black hole spacetimes in even dimensions. This is the first general and systematic approach to regularized vacuum polarization in higher even dimensions, building upon a previous scheme we developed for odd dimensions. Things are more complicated here since the even-dimensional propagator possesses logarithmic singularities which must be regularized. However, in spite of this complication, the regularization parameters can be computed in closed form in arbitrary even dimensions and for arbitrary metric function $f(r)$. As an explicit example of our method, we show plots for vacuum polarization of a massless scalar field in the Schwarzschild-Tangherlini spacetime for even $d=4,...,10$. However, the method presented applies straightforwardly to massive fields or to nonvacuum spacetimes.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1609.0816

Combined Transcriptome and Proteome Analysis of RpoS Regulon Reveals Its Role in Spoilage Potential of Pseudomonas fluorescens

Microbial contamination is considered the main cause of food spoilage. Pseudomonas fluorescens is a typical spoilage bacterium contributing to a large extent to the spoilage process of proteinaceous foods. RpoS is known as an alternative sigma factor controlling stress resistance and virulence in many pathogens. Our previous work revealed that RpoS contributes to the spoilage activities of P. fluorescens by regulating resistance to different stress conditions, extracellular acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) levels, extracellular protease and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) production. However, RpoS-dependent genes in P. fluorescens remained undefined. RNA-seq transcriptomics analysis combined with quantitative proteomics analysis based on multiplexed isobaric tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling was performed in the P. fluorescens wild-type strain UK4 and its derivative carrying an rpoS mutation. A total of 375 differentially expressed coding sequences (DECs) and 212 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. The DECs were further verified by qRT-PCR. The combined transcriptome and proteome analyses revealed the involvement of this regulator in several cellular processes, mainly including polysaccharide metabolism, intracellular secretion, extracellular structures, cell wall biogenesis, stress responses, and amino acid and biogenic amine metabolism, which may contribute to the biofilm formation, stress resistance, and spoilage activities of P. fluorescens. Moreover, we indeed observed that RpoS contributed to the production of the macrocolony biofilm's matrix. Our results provide insights into the regulatory network of RpoS and expand the knowledge about the role of RpoS in the functioning of P. fluorescens in food spoilage

Identification and characterization of four immune-related signatures in keloid

A keloid is a fibroproliferative disorder of unknown etiopathogenesis that requires ill-defined treatment. Existing evidence indicates that the immune system plays an important role in the occurrence and development of keloid. However, there is still a lack of research on the immune-related signatures of keloid. Here we identified immune-related signatures in keloid and explored their pathological mechanisms. Transcriptomic datasets (GSE7890, GSE92566, and GSE44270) of keloid and normal skin tissues were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The overlap of differentially expressed genes and immune-related genes was considered as differentially expressed immune-related genes (DEIGs). Functional analysis, expression, and distribution were applied to explore the function and characteristics of DEIGs, and the expression of these DEIGs in keloid and normal skin tissues was verified by immunohistochemistry. Finally, we conducted interactive network analysis and immune infiltration analysis to determine the therapeutic potential and immune correlation. We identified four DEIGs (LGR5, PTN, JAG1, and DKK1). In these datasets, only GSE7890 met the screening criteria. In the GSE7890 dataset, DKK1 and PTN were downregulated in keloid, whereas JAG1 and LGR5 were upregulated in keloid. In addition, we obtained the same conclusion through immunohistochemistry. Functional analysis indicated that these four DEIGs were mainly involved in stem cell, cell cycle, UV response, and therapy resistance. Through interactive network analysis, we found that these DEIGs were associated with drugs currently used to treat keloid, such as hydrocortisone, androstanolone, irinotecan, oxaliplatin, BHQ-880, and lecoleucovorin. Finally, many immune cells, including CD8+ T cells, resting memory CD4+ T cells, and M1 macrophages, were obtained by immune infiltration analysis. In conclusion, we identified four immune signaling molecules associated with keloid (LGR5, PTN, JAG1, and DKK1). These immune-related signaling molecules may be important modules in the pathogenesis of keloid. Additionally, we developed novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of this challenging disease

Understanding factors influencing the length of hospital stay among non-severe COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study in a Fangcang shelter hospital.

As a novel concept of responding to disease epidemics, Fangcang shelter hospitals were deployed to expand the health system's capacity and provide medical services for non-severe COVID-19 patients during the outbreak in Wuhan. To give insights on patient management within Fangcang hospitals, we conducted a retrospective analysis to: 1) describe the characteristics of the patients admitted to Fangcang hospitals and 2) explore risk factors for longer length of stay (LOS). We enrolled 136 confirmed COVID-19 patients, including asymptomatic patients and those with mild symptoms, who were hospitalized in the Wuti Fangcang Hospital. 58 patients completed the treatment and discharged before 1 March 2020. After describing patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, exposure history, treatment received and time course of the disease, we conducted linear regression analysis to identify factors influencing LOS. We found that patients having fever before admission were hospitalized 3.5 days (95%CI 1.39 to 5.63, p = 0.002) longer than those without fever and that patients having bilateral pneumonia were hospitalized 3.4 days (95%CI 0.49 to 6.25, p = 0.023) longer than those with normal CT scan results. We also found weak evidence suggesting that patients with diabetes were hospitalized 3.2 days longer than those without diabetes (95%CI -0.2 to 6.56, p = 0.065). However, we observed no significant differences in LOS between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and between patients who received treatment and those without treatment. Longer duration of hospitalization among non-severe COVID-19 patients is associated with having fever, bilateral pneumonia on CT scan and diabetes. However, being asymptomatic and using supportive medications at the early stage of infection do not have significant influences on LOS. Our study is a single-centered study with relatively small sample size. The findings provide evidence for predicting hospital bed demand in a novel response scenario and may help decision-makers in preparing for ramping up the health system capacity

Antifungal active ingredient from the twigs and leaves of Clausena lansium Lour. Skeels (Rutaceae)

Two novel amides, named clauphenamides A and B, and twelve other known compounds were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Clausena lansium Lour. Skeels (Rutaceae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with data reported in the literature. Clauphenamide A (1) featured in the unit of N-2-(4,8-dimethoxyfuro [2,3-b]quinolin-7-yl)vinyl, and clauphenamide B (2) was a unprecedented N-phenethyl cinnamide dimer. Other known compounds belong to pyrrolidone amides (3 and 4), furacoumarins (7–10), simple coumarins (11–14), lignan (5) and sesquiterpene (6). Compounds 5, 6, 10 and 12 were separated from the genus (Clausena) for the first time, while 13 was isolated in the species (C. lansium) for the first time. The antifungal activities of the isolated compounds were assayed. As a result, at the concentration of 100 μg/ml, compared with the control (chlorothalonil, inhibition rate of 83.67%), compounds 1 and 2 were found to exhibit moderate antifungal activity against B. dothidea with inhibition rates of 68.39% and 52.05%, respectively. Compounds 11–14 also exhibited moderate activity against B. dothidea and F. oxysporum, with inhibition rates greater than 40%. In addition, compared with the control (chlorothalonil, inhibition rate of 69.02%), compounds 11–14 showed strong antifungal activity to P. oryzae, with inhibition rates greater than 55%. Among them, compound 14 has the strongest antifungal activity against P. oryzae, and the inhibition rate (65.44%) is close to that of the control chlorothalonil. Additionally, the structure-activity relationships of the separated compounds are also discussed preliminarily in this paper

Integrated glycomic analysis of ovarian cancer side population cells

Additional file 2. The category of representative lectins for glycan profiling

Analysis of the genetic architecture of maize kernel size traits by combined linkage and association mapping

Kernel size‐related traits are the most direct traits correlating with grain yield. The genetic basis of three kernel traits of maize, kernel length (KL), kernel width (KW) and kernel thickness (KT), was investigated in an association panel and a biparental population. A total of 21 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected to be most significantly (P \u3c 2.25 × 10−6) associated with these three traits in the association panel under four environments. Furthermore, 50 quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling these traits were detected in seven environments in the intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) Syn10 doubled haploid (DH) population, of which eight were repetitively identified in at least three environments. Combining the two mapping populations revealed that 56 SNPs (P \u3c 1 × 10−3) fell within 18 of the QTL confidence intervals. According to the top significant SNPs, stable‐effect SNPs and the co‐localized SNPs by association analysis and linkage mapping, a total of 73 candidate genes were identified, regulating seed development. Additionally, seven miRNAs were found to situate within the linkage disequilibrium (LD) regions of the co‐localized SNPs, of which zma‐miR164e was demonstrated to cleave the mRNAs of Arabidopsis CUC1, CUC2 and NAC6 in vitro. Overexpression of zma‐miR164e resulted in the down‐regulation of these genes above and the failure of seed formation in Arabidopsis pods, with the increased branch number. These findings provide insights into the mechanism of seed development and the improvement of molecular marker‐assisted selection (MAS) for high‐yield breeding in maize

Multiple agency perspective, family control, and private information abuse in an emerging economy

Using a comprehensive sample of listed companies in Hong Kong this paper investigates how family control affects private information abuses and firm performance in emerging economies. We combine research on stock market microstructure with more recent studies of multiple agency perspectives and argue that family ownership and control over the board increases the risk of private information abuse. This, in turn, has a negative impact on stock market performance. Family control is associated with an incentive to distort information disclosure to minority shareholders and obtain private benefits of control. However, the multiple agency roles of controlling families may have different governance properties in terms of investors’ perceptions of private information abuse. These findings contribute to our understanding of the conflicting evidence on the governance role of family control within a multiple agency perspectiv