The ALMA-QUARKS Survey: II. the ACA 1.3 mm continuum source catalog and the assembly of dense gas in massive star-forming clumps

Leveraging the high resolution, high sensitivity, and wide frequency coverage of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the QUARKS survey, standing for "Querying Underlying mechanisms of massive star formation with ALMA-Resolved gas Kinematics and Structures", is observing 139 massive star-forming clumps at ALMA Band 6 ($\lambda\sim$ 1.3 mm). This paper introduces the Atacama Compact Array (ACA) 7-m data. Combining multi-wavelength data, we provide the first edition of QUARKS atlas, offering insights into the multiscale and multiphase interstellar medium in high-mass star formation. The ACA 1.3 mm catalog includes 207 continuum sources that are called ACA sources. Their gas kinetic temperatures are estimated using three formaldehyde (H$_2$CO) transitions with a non-LTE radiation transfer model, and the mass and density are derived from a dust emission model. The ACA sources are massive (16-84 percentile values of 6-160 $M_{\odot}$), gravity-dominated ($M\propto R^{1.1}$) fragments within massive clumps, with supersonic turbulence ($\mathcal{M}>1$) and embedded star-forming protoclusters. We find a linear correlation between the masses of the fragments and the massive clumps, with a ratio of 6% between the two. When considering the fragments as representative of dense gas, the ratio indicates a dense gas fraction (DGF) of 6%, although with a wide scatter ranging from 1% to 10%. If we consider the QUARKS massive clumps to be what is observed at various scales, then the size-independent DGF indicates a self-similar fragmentation or collapsing mode in protocluster formation. With the ACA data over four orders of magnitude of luminosity-to-mass ratio ($L/M$), we find that the DGF increases significantly with $L/M$, which indicates clump evolutionary stage. We observed a limited fragmentation at the subclump scale, which can be explained by dynamic global collapse process.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics. QUARKS atlas link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KTqXxCDduYepvLd9kIvZVSSytK48OmfL/view?usp=sharin

A General Construction Method of Virtual Simulation Experiment Platform Based on Bibliometrics and Analytic Hierarchy Process

Virtual simulation can solve the challenges of high cost, long cycle time, and inaccessibility in traditional experimental teaching, which is far-reaching for talent training. This study combines bibliometric visualization theory with AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process). It establishes a hierarchical evaluation model of a virtual simulation experimental teaching platform based on 842 questionnaires and 4787 articles, including 68,306 citation records, and deconstructing the complex evaluation problem into several multidimensional factors by attributes and relationships. Based on this, a virtual simulation experimental teaching platform construction scheme for IP protocol analysis based on a network covert communication perspective is outputted, which is compatible with the research results. The experimental platform takes a task-driven teaching method as the core, mainly including four modules of context creation, task determination, independent learning, and effect evaluation. The experience of building this platform can be extended to other disciplines, leading the teaching reform exploration of practice-based, innovation-focused, and engineering-critical, helping to implement the flipped classroom, and promoting the development of education modernization

A Method for Retrieving Vertical Air Velocities in Convective Clouds over the Tibetan Plateau from TIPEX-III Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra

In the summertime, convective cells occur frequently over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) because of the large dynamic and thermal effects of the landmass. Measurements of vertical air velocity in convective cloud are useful for advancing our understanding of the dynamic and microphysical mechanisms of clouds and can be used to improve the parameterization of current numerical models. This paper presents a technique for retrieving high-resolution vertical air velocities in convective clouds over the TP through the use of Doppler spectra from vertically pointing Ka-band cloud radar. The method was based on the development of a “small-particle-traced” idea and its associated data processing, and it used three modes of radar. Spectral broadening corrections, uncertainty estimations, and results merging were used to ensure accurate results. Qualitative analysis of two typical convective cases showed that the retrievals were reliable and agreed with the expected results inferred from other radar measurements. A quantitative retrieval of vertical air motion from a ground-based optical disdrometer was used to compare with the radar-derived result. This comparison illustrated that, while the data trends from the two methods of retrieval were in agreement while identifying the updrafts and downdrafts, the cloud radar had a much higher resolution and was able to reveal the small-scale variations in vertical air motion

Filamentous‐Actin‐Mimicking Nanoplatform for Enhanced Cytosolic Protein Delivery

Abstract Despite the potential of protein therapeutics, the cytosolic delivery of proteins with high efficiency and bioactivity remains a significant challenge owing to exocytosis and lysosomal degradation after endocytosis. Therefore, it is important to develop a safe and efficient strategy to bypass endocytosis. Inspired by the extraordinary capability of filamentous‐actin (F‐actin) to promote cell membrane fusion, a cyanine dye assembly‐containing nanoplatform mimicking the structure of natural F‐actin is developed. The nanoplatform exhibits fast membrane fusion to cell membrane mimics and thus enters live cells through membrane fusion and bypasses endocytosis. Moreover, it is found to efficiently deliver protein cargos into live cells and quickly release them into the cytosol, leading to high protein cargo transfection efficiency and bioactivity. The nanoplatform also results in the superior inhibition of tumor cells when loaded with anti‐tumor proteins. These results demonstrate that this fusogenic nanoplatform can be valuable for cytosolic protein delivery and tumor treatment

Establishing VIGS and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques to verify RsPDS function in radish

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) systems are effective technologies for rapid and accurate gene function verification in modern plant biotechnology. However, the investigation of gene silencing and editing in radish remains limited. In this study, a bleaching phenotype was generated through the knockdown of RsPDS using tobacco rattle virus (TRV)- and turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV)-mediated gene silencing vectors. The TYMV-mediated gene silencing efficiency was higher than the TRV-based VIGS system in radish. The expression level of RsPDS was significantly inhibited using VIGS in ‘NAU-067’ radish leaves. The rootless seedlings of ‘NAU-067’ were infected with Agrobacterium rhizogenes using the 2300GN-Ubi-RsPDS-Cas9 vector with two target sequences. Nine adventitious roots were blue with GUS staining, and four of these adventitious roots were edited at target sequence 1 of the RsPDS gene as indicated by Sanger sequencing. Furthermore, albino lines were generated with A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation of radish cotyledons. Five base substitutions and three base deletions occurred at target sequence 2 in Line 1, and three base insertions and three base substitutions occurred at target sequence 1 in Line 2. This study shows that VIGS and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques can be employed to precisely verify the biological functions of genes in radish, which will facilitate the genetic improvement of vital horticultural traits in radish breeding programs