Evolution time series for (a) and (b) of fixed, uniform, exponential and power-law distributions.

<p>Evolution time series for (a) and (b) of fixed, uniform, exponential and power-law distributions.</p

The probability of cooperators and defectors transmuting into each other, as a function of .

<p>(a) fixed distribution, (b) uniform distribution, (c) exponential distribution and (d) power-law distribution. The inset graphs are the (b) corresponding boundary transition probabilities.</p

The cooperation level as a function of for different distributions of , i.e., fixed, uniform, exponential and power-law distribution.

<p>The cooperation level as a function of for different distributions of , i.e., fixed, uniform, exponential and power-law distribution.</p

The mean payoffs of cooperators and defectors in the whole population and along the boundary, respectively obtained by simulations as a function of , for four different interaction distributions.

<p>(a) fixed distribution, (b) uniform distribution, (c) exponential distribution and (d) power-law distribution.</p

Snapshots of typical distributions of cooperators (red) and defectors (blue) on 4-neighbor square lattice for and four different interaction distributions.

<p>(a) fixed distribution, (b) uniform distribution, (c) exponential distribution and (d) power-law distribution.</p

The mean number of cooperator's (defector's) cooperative neighbors as a function of underlying exponential distribution.

<p>The mean number of cooperator's (defector's) cooperative neighbors as a function of underlying exponential distribution.</p

Strain-Induced Crystallization of Segmented Copolymers: Deviation from the Classic Deformation Mechanism

The classic deformation mechanism of the Gaussian model of Haward and Thackray was utilized to treat the true stress−strain behaviors of a family of novel polyether-<i>b</i>-amide segmented copolymers based on the crystalline hard segments of polyamide1012 and the amorphous soft segments of poly­(tetramethylene oxide). The results showed that the deformation behaviors of the plastic copolymers abided by the Gaussian model, causing the modulus <i>G</i> of the strain-induced hardening process to depend on the weight percentage of the polyamide segments in the copolymers. By contrast, the deformation of elastomeric copolymers deviated from the model because of the occurrence of strain-induced crystallization in the soft polyether sections at large strains, which negated the Gaussian assumption; i.e., the random coil conformation was maintained even under substantial stretching. The onset point of deviation was, for the first time, quantitatively identified by <i>in situ</i> FTIR and further confirmed by <i>in situ</i> WAXD/SAXS

Presentation_1_CRISPR/Cas12a toolbox for genome editing in Methanosarcina acetivorans.pdf

Methanogenic archaea play an important role in the global carbon cycle and may serve as host organisms for the biotechnological production of fuels and chemicals from CO2 and other one-carbon substrates. Methanosarcina acetivorans is extensively studied as a model methanogen due to its large genome, versatile substrate range, and available genetic tools. Genome editing in M. acetivorans via CRISPR/Cas9 has also been demonstrated. Here, we describe a user-friendly CRISPR/Cas12a toolbox that recognizes T-rich (5′-TTTV) PAM sequences. The toolbox can manage deletions of 3,500 bp (i.e., knocking out the entire frhADGB operon) and heterologous gene insertions with positive rates of over 80%. Cas12a-mediated multiplex genome editing was used to edit two separate sites on the chromosome in one round of editing. Double deletions of 100 bp were achieved, with 8/8 of transformants being edited correctly. Simultaneous deletion of 100 bp at one site and replacement of 100 bp with the 2,400 bp uidA expression cassette at a separate site yielded 5/6 correctly edited transformants. Our CRISPR/Cas12a toolbox enables reliable genome editing, and it can be used in parallel with the previously reported Cas9-based system for the genetic engineering of the Methanosarcina species.</p

A modified crow search algorithm based on group strategy and adaptive mechanism

As a swarm-based metaheuristic algorithm, the crow search algorithm (CSA) has attracted a lot of attention owing to its simplicity and flexibility. However, CSA tends to have low efficiency. To improve the optimization efficiency, this article proposes a modified version of CSA based on group strategy with an adaptive mechanism (GCSA). On this basis, crows are divided into multiple competing groups, and are assigned different roles and statuses. Then, the group strategy including different search modes is implemented to increase the solution diversity and search efficiency. Moreover, benefiting from the adaptive mechanism, the search range of crows changes in different stages to balance exploration and exploitation capabilities. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, 35 benchmark test functions (including 10 CEC2020 functions) and three engineering design problems are solved by GCSA and 11 other algorithms. The results prove that GCSA generally provides more competitive results than other metaheuristic algorithms.</p

Data_Sheet_1_CRISPR/Cas12a toolbox for genome editing in Methanosarcina acetivorans.docx

Methanogenic archaea play an important role in the global carbon cycle and may serve as host organisms for the biotechnological production of fuels and chemicals from CO2 and other one-carbon substrates. Methanosarcina acetivorans is extensively studied as a model methanogen due to its large genome, versatile substrate range, and available genetic tools. Genome editing in M. acetivorans via CRISPR/Cas9 has also been demonstrated. Here, we describe a user-friendly CRISPR/Cas12a toolbox that recognizes T-rich (5′-TTTV) PAM sequences. The toolbox can manage deletions of 3,500 bp (i.e., knocking out the entire frhADGB operon) and heterologous gene insertions with positive rates of over 80%. Cas12a-mediated multiplex genome editing was used to edit two separate sites on the chromosome in one round of editing. Double deletions of 100 bp were achieved, with 8/8 of transformants being edited correctly. Simultaneous deletion of 100 bp at one site and replacement of 100 bp with the 2,400 bp uidA expression cassette at a separate site yielded 5/6 correctly edited transformants. Our CRISPR/Cas12a toolbox enables reliable genome editing, and it can be used in parallel with the previously reported Cas9-based system for the genetic engineering of the Methanosarcina species.</p