New Immunomodulating Polyhydroxypregnane Glycosides from the Roots of Cynanchum otophyllum C.K.Schneid.

Seven new polyhydroxypregnane glycosides, named cynotophyllosides P–V, together with three known analogs were isolated from the roots of Cynanchum otophyllum C.K.Schneid . Their structures were elucidated by a variety of spectroscopic techniques, as well as acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis. All isolates were tested for their immunological activities in vitro against Con A‐ and LPS‐induced proliferation of mice splenocytes. Immunoenhancing (for 1 , 9 ) and immunosuppressive (for 2 ) activities were observed. Furthermore, cynotophylloside R ( 3 ) showed immunomodulatory as it enhanced the proliferation of splenocytes in low concentration and suppressed immune cells in concentration more than 1.0 μg/ml.     

3D Printing of Tunable Energy Storage Devices with Both High Areal and Volumetric Energy Densities

Developing advanced supercapacitors with both high areal and volumetric energy densities remains challenging. In this work, self‐supported, compact carbon composite electrodes are designed with tunable thickness using 3D printing technology for high‐energy‐density supercapacitors. The 3D carbon composite electrodes are composed of the closely stacked and aligned active carbon/carbon nanotube/reduced graphene oxide (AC/CNT/rGO) composite filaments. The AC microparticles are uniformly embedded in the wrinkled CNT/rGO conductive networks without using polymer binders, which contributes to the formation of abundant open and hierarchical pores. The 3D‐printed ultrathick AC/CNT/rGO composite electrode (ten layers) features high areal and volumetric mass loadings of 56.9 mg cm^?2 and 256.3 mg cm^?3, respectively. The symmetric cell assembled with the 3D‐printed thin GO separator and ultrathick AC/CNT/rGO electrodes can possess both high areal and volumetric capacitances of 4.56 F cm^?2 and 10.28 F cm^?3, respectively. Correspondingly, the assembled ultrathick and compact symmetric cell achieves high areal and volumetric energy densities of 0.63 mWh cm^?2 and 1.43 mWh cm^?3, respectively. The all‐component extrusion‐based 3D printing offers a promising strategy for the fabrication of multiscale and multidimensional structures of various high‐energy‐density electrochemical energy storage devices.     

Inverse Optical Cavity Design for Ultrabroadband Light Absorption Beyond the Conventional Limit in Low‐Bandgap Nonfullerene Acceptor–Based Solar Cells

In the subwavelength regime, several nanophotonic configurations have been proposed to overcome the conventional light trapping or light absorption enhancement limit in solar cells also known as the Yablonovitch limit. It has been recently suggested that establishing such limit should rely on computational inverse electromagnetic design instead of the traditional approach combining intuition and a priori known physical effect. In the present work, by applying an inverse full wave vector electromagnetic computational approach, a 1D nanostructured optical cavity with a new resonance configuration is designed that provides an ultrabroadband (≈450 nm) light absorption enhancement when applied to a 107 nm thick active layer organic solar cell based on a low‐bandgap (1.32 eV) nonfullerene acceptor. It is demonstrated computationally and experimentally that the absorption enhancement provided by such a cavity surpasses the conventional limit resulting from an ergodic optical geometry by a 7% average over a 450 nm band and by more than 20% in the NIR. In such a cavity configuration the solar cells exhibit a maximum power conversion efficiency above 14%, corresponding to the highest ever measured for devices based on the specific nonfullerene acceptor used.     

A novel de novo PDE4D gene mutation identified in a Chinese patient with acrodysostosis

Acrodysostosis is an extremely rare disorder at birth, that is, characterized by skeletal dysplasia with short stature and midfacial hypoplasia, which has been reported to be caused by PDE4D and PRKAR1A gene mutations. Here, a Chinese boy with acrodysostosis, ventricular septal defect, and pulmonary hypertension was recruited for our study, and his clinical and biochemical characteristics were analyzed. A novel de novo heterozygous missense mutation (NM_001104631: c.2030A>C, p.Tyr677Ser) of the PDE4D gene was detected by whole exome sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The c.2030A>C (p.Tyr677Ser) variant was located in exon 15 of the PDE4D gene, predicted to be damaging by a functional prediction program and shown to be highly conserved among many species. Further functional analysis showed that the p.Tyr677Ser substitution changes the function of the PDE4D protein, affects its subcellular localization in transfected cells, increases PDE4 activity in the regulation of cAMP signaling and affects cell proliferation. Our study identified a novel de novo PDE4D mutation in acrodysostosis of Chinese origin that not only contributes a deeper appreciation of the phenotypic characteristics of patients with PDE4D mutations but also expands the spectrum of PDE4D mutations.     

Quantitative Analysis of the Whole-Body Metabolic Fate of Branched-Chain Amino Acids

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LATS1 K751 acetylation blocks activation of Hippo signalling and switches LATS1 from a tumor suppressor to an oncoprotein

Science China Life Sciences - Large tumor suppressor 1 (LATS1) is the key kinase controlling activation of Hippo signalling pathway. Post-translational modifications of LATS1 modulate its kinase...     

OsRLCK160 contributes to flavonoid accumulation and UV-B tolerance by regulating OsbZIP48 in rice

Science China Life Sciences - Plants produce specialized metabolites to adapt to the ever-changing environments. Flavonoids are antioxidants essential for growth, development, and breeding with...     

Fine-scale spatial distribution of soil organic carbon and its fractions after afforestation with Pinus sylvestris and Salix psammophila in a semiarid desert of China

半干旱沙漠中樟子松和沙柳造林后土壤有机碳及其组分的小尺度空间分布 半干旱沙漠造林有助于改善土壤功能以及增加土壤有机碳(SOC)固定,但人们对造林后SOC及其不稳定(LOC)组分的小尺度空间分布了解甚少。本研究以毛乌素沙地东南缘樟子松(Pinus sylvestris)和沙柳 (Salix psammophila)为研究对象,量化了距离树体20、80、150和240 cm处SOC、LOC组分及其相关变量的小尺度空间分布。研究结果表明,沙柳和樟子松造林显著提高了SOC、总氮(TN)、可溶性有机碳 (DOC)、微生物碳(MBC)和易氧化有机碳(ROOC)含量;在距离树体20 cm处,0–100 cm土层樟子松SOC 储量比沙柳高27.21%;在距离树体80和150 cm处,沙柳SOC储量分别比樟子松高5.50%和5.66%;与流 沙地相比,在距离树体20、80、150 和240 cm处,沙柳和樟子松SOC储量显著增加了94.90%、39.50%、 27.10%和18.50%;沙柳和樟子松ROOC分别占SOC的14.09%和18.93%。总之,造林促进了半干旱流沙地SOC的积累,樟子松比沙柳分配更多的有机质到距离树体<80 cm范围内的土体中。