Excessively tilted fiber grating based Fe3O4 saturable absorber for passively mode-locked fiber laser

A novel approach to saturable absorber (SA) formation is presented by taking advantage of the mode coupling property of excessively tilted fiber grating (Ex-TFG). Stable mode-locked operation can be conveniently achieved based on the interaction between Ex- TFG coupled light and deposited ferroferric-oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The central wavelength, bandwidth and single pulse duration of the output are 1595 nm, 4.05 nm, and 912 fs, respectively. The fiber laser exhibits good long-term stability with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 67 dB. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, Ex-TFG based Fe3O4 SA for mode-locked fiber laser is demonstrated

Cumulative Evidence for Relationships Between 8q24 Variants and Prostate Cancer

Multiple independent cancer susceptibility loci at chromosome 8q24 have been identified by GWAS (Genome-wide association studies). Forty six articles including 60,293 cases and 62,971 controls were collected to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the associations between 21 variants in 8q24 and prostate cancer risk. Of the 21 variants located in 8q2\5 were significantly associated with the risk of prostate cancer. In particular, both homozygous AA and heterozygous CA genotypes of rs16901979, as well as the AA and CA genotypes of rs1447295, were associated with the risk of prostate cancer. Our study showed that variants in the 8q24 region are associated with prostate cancer risk in this large-scale research synopsis and meta-analysis. Further studies are needed to explore the role of the 8q24 variants involved in the etiology of prostate cancer

Biological N fixation but not mineral N fertilization enhances the accumulation of N in peanut soil in maize/peanut intercropping system

Legume/cereal intercropping has the potential to maximize the use of resources to raise yields due to enhanced nitrogen (N) fixation by legume root nodules, while high N fertilization may inhibit the nodulation of legume. However, whether legume/cereal intercropping can promote the accumulation of soil N storage with N fertilization and its underlying mechanism are less clear. Here, we evaluated the long-term (5 years) effects of maize/peanut intercropping and mineral N fertilization on peanut soil total N content and soil N cycling functional genes. The experiment includes two planting patterns (peanut maize intercropping and peanut monocropping) with three N fertilization rates (0, 150, and 300 kg N ha−1). Intercropping increased soil total N content (STN) by average 18.2%, and the positive effect of intercropping on STN decreased with N application rate. Highest N application decreased the nodule fresh weight (NFW) by 64.3% and 46.0% in intercropping and monocropping system, respectively. However, intercropping has no effect on NFW. Intercropping increased the nifH gene abundance by average 26.5%. SEM analysis indicated that NFW and nifH gene abundance combined can explain 46% of the variance of STN. Our results indicate that biological N fixation but not mineral N fertilization enhances the accumulation of N in soil planted with peanut in maize/peanut intercropping system.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of Genome-Wide Variations among Three Elite Restorer Lines for Hybrid-Rice

Rice restorer lines play an important role in three-line hybrid rice production. Previous research based on molecular tagging has suggested that the restorer lines used widely today have narrow genetic backgrounds. However, patterns of genetic variation at a genome-wide scale in these restorer lines remain largely unknown. The present study performed re-sequencing and genome-wide variation analysis of three important representative restorer lines, namely, IR24, MH63, and SH527, using the Solexa sequencing technology. With the genomic sequence of the Indica cultivar 9311 as the reference, the following genetic features were identified: 267,383 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 52,847 insertion/deletion polymorphisms (InDels), and 3,286 structural variations (SVs) in the genome of IR24; 288,764 SNPs, 59,658 InDels, and 3,226 SVs in MH63; and 259,862 SNPs, 55,500 InDels, and 3,127 SVs in SH527. Variations between samples were also determined by comparative analysis of authentic collections of SNPs, InDels, and SVs, and were functionally annotated. Furthermore, variations in several important genes were also surveyed by alignment analysis in these lines. Our results suggest that genetic variations among these lines, although far lower than those reported in the landrace population, are greater than expected, indicating a complicated genetic basis for the phenotypic diversity of the restorer lines. Identification of genome-wide variation and pattern analysis among the restorer lines will facilitate future genetic studies and the molecular improvement of hybrid rice