New Eudesmane Sesquiterpenoids from Salvia plebeia R. Br.

Three new sesquiterpenoids, salplebeones A – C ( 1  –  3 ), were isolated from the ethanol‐soluble extract of the aerial part of Salvia plebeia R. Br . Their structures were established by detailed analysis of NMR and MS spectra. Salplebeone A was an eudesmane lactone, while salplebeones B and C were rare eudesmane sesquiterpenoids, containing 12,8‐lactam groups. Antiproliferative activities of salplebeones A – C to myeloid leukemia cell lines were evaluated.     

Characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">SWEET</Emphasis> family members from loquat and their responses to exogenous induction

The plant SWEET family is a sugar transporter family that plays a significant role in plant development. Here, seven loquat SWEET family members were identified by RNA-seq. These were designated as EjSWEET1, EjSWEET2a, EjSWEET2b, EjSWEET2c, EjSWEET4, EjSWEET15, and EjSWEET17. Phylogenetic and predictive functional annotation analyses suggest that the loquat SWEETs are classified as having sucrose, glucose and fructose transportation features. The in vivo responses of loquat SWEETs to exogenous sugar or NaCl was investigated by applying high concentrations of sugar or salt to 7-month-old loquat seedlings cultured in a nutrient medium. The results showed that most loquat SWEET genes can respond to exogenous applications of sucrose, glucose, fructose and salt. The response of EjSWEET1 to exogenous fructose was faster than the others, indicating that EjSWEET1 is more sensitive to exogenous fructose compared with other loquat SWEETs. EjSWEET15 can be induced by sucrose, but is suppressed by glucose. This indicates its possible role in sucrose transporting. The response of loquat SWEETs to NaCl showed broadly similar patterns compared to sugars. However, after a longer time of NaCl treatment, most loquat SWEETs are upregulated, especially EjSWEET15. This indicates its long-term response to high salinity.     

Engineering the Thermoelectric Transport in Half‐Heusler Materials through a Bottom‐Up Nanostructure Synthesis

Half‐Heusler (HH) alloys are among the best promising thermoelectric (TE) materials applicable for the middle‐to‐high temperature power generation. Despite of the large thermoelectric power factor and decent figure‐of‐merit ZT (≈1), their broad applications and enhancement on TE performance are limited by the high intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity (κ_L) due to insufficiencies of phonon scattering mechanisms, and the fewer powerful strategies associated with the microstructural engineering for HH materials. This study reports a bottom‐up nanostructure synthesis approach for these HH materials based on the displacement reaction between metal chlorides/bromides and magnesium (or lithium), followed by vacuum‐assisted spark plasma sintering process. The samples are featured with dense dislocation arrays at the grain boundaries, leading to a minimum κ_L of ≈1 W m^?1 K^?1 at 900 K and one of the highest ZT (≈1) and predicted η (≈11%) for n‐type Hf_0.25Zr_0.75NiSn_0.97Sb_0.03. Further manipulation on the dislocation defects at the grain boundaries of p‐type Nb_0.8Ti_0.2FeSb leads to enhanced maximum power factor of 47 × 10^?4 W m^?1 K^?2 and the predicted η of ≈7.5%. Moreover, vanadium substitution in FeNb_0.56V_0.24Ti_0.2Sb significantly promotes the η to ≈11%. This strategy can be extended to a broad range of advanced alloys and compounds for improved properties.     

Biomechanical properties and cellular biocompatibility of 3D printed tracheal graft

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - The goals of our study were to evaluate the biomechanical properties and cellular biocompatibility of 3D printed tracheal graft fabricated by...     

六出花属DUS测试性状筛选与评价

以39份六出花品种为试材,对51个候选性状进行观测,比对不同测量方式对花相关数量性状的影响,并同时研究了同品种中外花被片与侧外花被片长度的相关性。结果表明:"花序:花序梗长度"和"花:花梗长度"不满足DUS测试性状要求,最后筛选出43个性状作为DUS测试性状。12个数量性状可分别划分为3~7级;不同观测方式对花相关数量性状具有影响,推荐DUS测试时采用随机观测方式;不同批次的同一品种观测结果部分性状上存在差异;多数品种的中外花被片长度与侧外花被片长度之间呈线性正相关;形态性状的聚类分析结果支持将"花:主色"作为分组性状。     

黄渤海甲壳类的分类多样性

为了解黄渤海甲壳类的分类多样性特征, 我们统计了2010-2015年中国水产科学研究院黄海水产研究所调查捕获的黄渤海甲壳类(软甲纲: 十足目与口足目)物种名录。结合历史文献, 进一步系统整理得到黄渤海甲壳类物种总名录。基于这2个名录, 应用分类阶元包含指数(the inclusion index at taxonomic level, TINCL_i)、平均分类差异指数(average taxonomic distinctness index, Δ⁺)和分类差异变异指数(variation in taxonomic distinctness index, Λ⁺)研究了其分类多样性特征。结果显示: 2010-2015年调查名录中, 甲壳类共93种, 隶属于2目39科66属, 其中10种为新分布种; 对虾科、藻虾科、长臂虾科、梭子蟹科和弓蟹科的物种数最多, 合计占总物种数的38.71%; TINCL_i分别为1.41种/属和2.38种/科; Δ⁺和Λ⁺分别为50.25和35.20。总名录中, 甲壳类共228种, 隶属于2目53科123属, 其中藻虾科、豆蟹科、对虾科、弓蟹科和鼓虾科的物种数最多, 合计占总物种数的30.70%; TINCL_i分别为1.85种/属和4.30种/科, Δ⁺和Λ⁺分别为50.18和30.87。对虾科的相对丰富度指数(the relative richness index, R_r)最高(100), 其次是梭子蟹科(71.43)和长臂虾科(62.50), 豆蟹科最低(6.25)。黄渤海甲壳类的平均分类差异指数(Δ⁺)明显小于鱼类(P < 0.05)。2010-2015年调查的Δ⁺计算值高于理论值, 且在理论值的95%置信区间内, 说明黄渤海甲壳类群落正处在中等程度的干扰中。     

Accelerated evolution of early angiosperms: Evidence from ranunculalean phylogeny by integrating living and fossil data

The new discovery of angiosperm remains in the Jehol Biota of northeastern China contributes to our understanding of the origin and early evolution of flowering plants. The earliest eudicot genus with reproductive organs, Leefructus, was recently documented from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at 125.8–123.0 Ma, and was reconsidered to be close to the extant family Ranunculaceae based on gross morphology. However, this hypothesis has not been tested using a cladistic approach. To determine the possible allies of Leefructus within extant eudicots, we constructed a 66 morphological data matrix. Molecular and morphological analyses of extant Ranunculales combined with the fossil suggest that it has an affinity with the Ranunculaceae. The earliest fossil record of the eudicots is 127–125 Ma based on tricolpate pollen grains. Thus, we suggest a hypothesis that the basal eudicots might have experienced an accelerated evolution and diversification during the latest Barremian and earliest Aptian, leading to the stem groups of at least six extant families or lineages, 10–15 Myr earlier than currently documented. Angiosperms have undergone multiple uneven pulses of radiation since their origin. Many key character innovations occurred in different stages that could have triggered those radiations in concert with various biotic and abiotic factors.     

Crystal clear: visualizing the intervention mechanism of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction by two cancer therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

Antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies have taken center stage in immunotherapies for cancer, with multiple clinical successes. PD-1 signaling plays pivotal roles in tumor-driven T-cell dysfunction. In contrast to prior approaches to generate or boost tumor-specific T-cell responses, antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade targets tumor-induced T-cell defects and restores preexisting T-cell function to modulate antitumor immunity. In this review, the fundamental knowledge on the expression regulations and inhibitory functions of PD-1 and the present understanding of antibody-based PD-1/ PD-L1 blockade therapies are briefly summarized. We then focus on the recent breakthrough work concerning the structural basis of the PD-1/PD-Ls interaction and how therapeutic antibodies, pembrolizumab targeting PD-1 and avelumab targeting PD-L1, compete with the binding of PD-1/PD-L1 to interrupt the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. We believe that this structural information will benefit the design and improvement of therapeutic antibodies targeting PD-1 signaling.