Protein S

The Asp-His-His-Cys-Cys-rich domain-containing Protein S-Acyl Transferases (PATs) are multipass transmembrane proteins that catalyze S-acylation (commonly known as S-palmitoylation), the reversible posttranslational lipid modification of proteins. Palmitoylation enhances the hydrophobicity of proteins, contributes to their membrane association, and plays roles in protein trafficking and signaling. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), there are at least 24 PATs; previous studies on two PATs established important roles in growth, development, and stress responses. In this study, we identified a, to our knowledge, novel PAT, AtPAT14, in Arabidopsis. Complementation studies in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and Arabidopsis demonstrate that AtPAT14 possesses PAT enzyme activity. Disruption of AtPAT14 by T-DNA insertion resulted in an accelerated senescence phenotype. This coincided with increased transcript levels of some senescence-specific and pathogen-resistant marker genes. We show that early senescence of pat14 does not involve the signaling molecules jasmonic acid and abscisic acid, or autophagy, but associates with salicylic acid homeostasis and signaling. This strongly suggests that AtPAT14 plays a pivotal role in regulating senescence via salicylic acid pathways. Senescence is a complex process required for normal plant growth and development and requires the coordination of many genes and signaling pathways. However, precocious senescence results in loss of biomass and seed production. The negative regulation of leaf senescence by AtPAT14 in Arabidopsis highlights, to our knowledge for the first time, a specific role for palmitoylation in leaf senescence

Efficient and ultra-stable perovskite light-emitting diodes

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have emerged as a strong contender for next-generation display and information technologies. However, similar to perovskite solar cells, the poor operational stability remains the main obstacle toward commercial applications. Here we demonstrate ultra-stable and efficient PeLEDs with extraordinary operational lifetimes (T50) of 1.0x10^4 h, 2.8x10^4 h, 5.4x10^5 h, and 1.9x10^6 h at initial radiance (or current densities) of 3.7 W/sr/m2 (~5 mA/cm2), 2.1 W/sr/m2 (~3.2 mA/cm2), 0.42 W/sr/m2 (~1.1 mA/cm2), and 0.21 W/sr/m2 (~0.7 mA/cm2) respectively, and external quantum efficiencies of up to 22.8%. Key to this breakthrough is the introduction of a dipolar molecular stabilizer, which serves two critical roles simultaneously. First, it prevents the detrimental transformation and decomposition of the alpha-phase FAPbI3 perovskite, by inhibiting the formation of lead and iodide intermediates. Secondly, hysteresis-free device operation and microscopic luminescence imaging experiments reveal substantially suppressed ion migration in the emissive perovskite. The record-long PeLED lifespans are encouraging, as they now satisfy the stability requirement for commercial organic LEDs (OLEDs). These results remove the critical concern that halide perovskite devices may be intrinsically unstable, paving the path toward industrial applications.Comment: This is a preprint of the paper prior to peer review. New and updated results may be available in the final version from the publishe

A High Efficiency DC/DC Converter for High Voltage Gain High Current Applications

A new class of high-voltage-gain dc-dc converters for high-efficiency and transformer-less dc-dc applications, where large voltage step-up ratios are required, is presented in this paper. The converter is derived from the hybrid integration of a switched-capacitor converter and a boost converter. It features high step-up voltage conversion ratio with a moderate duty cycle, nonpulsating input current, low-voltage stress on all of the switches, easy implementation of control and driving circuits, scalability for high-current high-power applications, and low cost due to reduced components via combination of a two-stage converter into a single-stage converter. Full soft-charging operation and minimal device voltage stresses are achieved under all operating conditions. Steady-state operations of the converter are comprehensively analyzed. A 300-W prototype of a 19-time converter achieving the peak efficiency of 96.1% is built. Both simulation and experimental results validating the theoretical analysis and operation of the converter are provided.</p

Elevation of the Yields of Very Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids via Minimal Codon Optimization of Two Key Biosynthetic Enzymes

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5Δ5,8,11,14,17) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6Δ4,7,10,13,16,19) are nutritionally beneficial to human health. Transgenic production of EPA and DHA in oilseed crops by transferring genes originating from lower eukaryotes, such as microalgae and fungi, has been attempted in recent years. However, the low yield of EPA and DHA produced in these transgenic crops is a major hurdle for the commercialization of these transgenics. Many factors can negatively affect transgene expression, leading to a low level of converted fatty acid products. Among these the codon bias between the transgene donor and the host crop is one of the major contributing factors. Therefore, we carried out codon optimization of a fatty acid delta-6 desaturase gene PinD6 from the fungus Phytophthora infestans, and a delta-9 elongase gene, IgASE1 from the microalga Isochrysis galbana for expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis respectively. These are the two key genes encoding enzymes for driving the first catalytic steps in the Δ6 desaturation/ Δ6 elongation and the Δ9 elongation/Δ8 desaturation pathways for EPA/DHA biosynthesis. Hence expression levels of these two genes are important in determining the final yield of EPA/DHA. Via PCR-based mutagenesis we optimized the least preferred codons within the first 16 codons at their N-termini, as well as the most biased CGC codons (coding for arginine) within the entire sequences of both genes. An expression study showed that transgenic Arabidopsis plants harbouring the codon-optimized IgASE1 contained 64% more elongated fatty acid products than plants expressing the native IgASE1 sequence, whilst Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing the codon optimized PinD6 yielded 20 times more desaturated products than yeast expressing wild-type (WT) PinD6. Thus the codon optimization strategy we developed here offers a simple, effective and low-cost alternative to whole gene synthesis for high expression of foreign genes in yeast and Arabidopsis

Returning to Memory An Exhibition of Oracle Bone Script

Oracle bone script was the earliest form of Chinese characters carved on turtle plastrons and animal bones using a sharp tool. Oracle bone script was used for divination through fire in the Shang dynasty (c.1600-1046 BCE). This research explores ways to promote and enhance audience interest in the script through storytelling strategies that use interactive technology in an exhibition context. Through the course of this study, I found that there is a lack of publicity and cultural engagement with oracle bone script and that this has contributed to the general public knowing little about its historical importance. Therefore, I have created a proposal for an exhibition that showcases, through various means, this significant Chinese historical legacy

Water Activity and Solubility Measurements and Pitzer Model Simulation of the MgCl2-RbCl-H2O Ternary System at 298.15 K

Water activities for the MgCl2-RbCl-H2O ternary system and its sub-binary MgCl2-H2O and RbCl-H2O systems at 298.15 K have been measured using the isopiestic method. The measured results for the binary systems agree well with literature data. The measured equal water activity lines for the MgCl2-RbCl-H2O ternary system deviate from Zdanovskii&#39;s rule. The solubilities for the MgCl2-RbCl-H2O ternary system also have been measured using a isothermal visual first/last crystal method, and the results are consistent with one reported set of solubility data. Pitzer&#39;s model was selected to correlate the measured water activity and solubility data and the parameters reported in the literature are re-examined by comparing the model-calculated equal water activity lines and solubilities with experimental values measured in this work. New and reasonable parameters are obtained by fitting the water activity and solubility data measured in this work and those reported in the literature. The water activities and solubilities were simulated with the new parameters and the results show that the Pitzer model can successfully represent the thermodynamic properties and be used to calculate the solubility isotherms.</p

A High Efficiency DC/DC Converter for High Voltage Gain High Current Applications

A new class of high-voltage-gain dc-dc converters for high-efficiency and transformer-less dc-dc applications, where large voltage step-up ratios are required, is presented in this paper. The converter is derived from the hybrid integration of a switched-capacitor converter and a boost converter. It features high step-up voltage conversion ratio with a moderate duty cycle, nonpulsating input current, low-voltage stress on all of the switches, easy implementation of control and driving circuits, scalability for high-current high-power applications, and low cost due to reduced components via combination of a two-stage converter into a single-stage converter. Full soft-charging operation and minimal device voltage stresses are achieved under all operating conditions. Steady-state operations of the converter are comprehensively analyzed. A 300-W prototype of a 19-time converter achieving the peak efficiency of 96.1% is built. Both simulation and experimental results validating the theoretical analysis and operation of the converter are provided.</p