| 11. |
- Zhang, Juqing, et al.
(författare)
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Super-enhancers conserved within placental mammals maintain stem cell pluripotency
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite pluripotent stem cells sharing key transcription factors, their maintenance involves distinct genetic inputs. Emerging evidence suggests that super-enhancers (SEs) can function as master regulatory hubs to control cell identity and pluripotency in humans and mice. However, whether pluripotency-associated SEs share an evolutionary origin in mammals remains elusive. Here, we performed comprehensive comparative epigenomic and transcription factor binding analyses among pigs, humans, and mice to identify pluripotency-associated SEs. Like typical enhancers, SEs displayed rapid evolu-tion in mammals. We showed that BRD4 is an essential and conserved activator for mammalian pluripotency-associated SEs. Comparative motif enrichment analysis revealed 30 shared transcription factor binding motifs among the three species. The majority of transcriptional factors that bind to identified motifs are known regulators associated with pluripotency. Further, we discovered three pluripotency-associated SEs (SE-SOX2, SE-PIM1, and SE-FGFR1) that displayed remarkable conservation in pla-cental mammals and were sufficient to drive reporter gene expression in a pluripotency-dependent manner. Disruption of these conserved SEs through the CRISPR-Cas9 approach severely impaired stem cell pluripotency. Our study provides insights into the understanding of conserved regulatory mechanisms underlying the maintenance of plu-ripotency as well as species-specific modulation of the pluripotency-associated regula-tory networks in mammals.
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| 12. |
- Bai, Yang, et al.
(författare)
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Geometry design of tethered small-molecule acceptor enables highly stable and efficient polymer solar cells
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the power conversion efficiency of binary polymer solar cells dramatically improved, the thermal stability of the small-molecule acceptors raised the main concerns on the device operating stability. Here, to address this issue, thiophene-dicarboxylate spacer tethered small-molecule acceptors are designed, and their molecular geometries are further regulated via the thiophene-core isomerism engineering, affording dimeric TDY-alpha with a 2, 5-substitution and TDY-beta with 3, 4-substitution on the core. It shows that TDY-alpha processes a higher glass transition temperature, better crystallinity relative to its individual small-molecule acceptor segment and isomeric counterpart of TDY-beta, and amore stablemorphology with the polymer donor. As a result, the TDY-alpha based device delivers a higher device efficiency of 18.1%, and most important, achieves an extrapolated lifetime of about 35000 hours that retaining 80% of their initial efficiency. Our result suggests that with proper geometry design, the tethered small-molecule acceptors can achieve both high device efficiency and operating stability.
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| 13. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Nature Research. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate. Little is known about peoples preferred responses to norm violations across countries. Here, in a study of 57 countries, the authors highlight cultural similarities and differences in peoples perception of the appropriateness of norm violations.
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| 14. |
- Feng, Ruizhi, et al.
(författare)
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Mutations in TUBB8 and Human Oocyte Meiotic Arrest.
- 2016
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Ingår i: The New England journal of medicine. - 1533-4406. ; 374:3, s. 223-232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Human reproduction depends on the fusion of a mature oocyte with a sperm cell to form a fertilized egg. The genetic events that lead to the arrest of human oocyte maturation are unknown. Methods We sequenced the exomes of five members of a four-generation family, three of whom had infertility due to oocyte meiosis I arrest. We performed Sanger sequencing of a candidate gene, TUBB8, in DNA samples from these members, additional family members, and members of 23 other affected families. The expression of TUBB8 and all other β-tubulin isotypes was assessed in human oocytes, early embryos, sperm cells, and several somatic tissues by means of a quantitative reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction assay. We evaluated the effect of the TUBB8 mutations on the assembly of the heterodimer consisting of one α-tubulin polypeptide and one β-tubulin polypeptide (α/β-tubulin heterodimer) in vitro, on microtubule architecture in HeLa cells, on microtubule dynamics in yeast cells, and on spindle assembly in mouse and human oocytes. Results We identified seven mutations in the primate-specific gene TUBB8 that were responsible for oocyte meiosis I arrest in 7 of the 24 families. TUBB8 expression is unique to oocytes and the early embryo, in which this gene accounts for almost all the expressed β-tubulin. The mutations affect chaperone-dependent folding and assembly of the α/β-tubulin heterodimer, disrupt microtubule behavior on expression in cultured cells, alter microtubule dynamics in vivo, and cause catastrophic spindle-assembly defects and maturation arrest on expression in mouse and human oocytes. Conclusions TUBB8 mutations have dominant-negative effects that disrupt microtubule behavior and oocyte meiotic spindle assembly and maturation, causing female infertility. (Funded by the National Basic Research Program of China and others.).
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| 15. |
- Li, Jiayu, et al.
(författare)
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Electron-Hole Symmetry Breaking in Charge Transport in Nitrogen-Doped Graphene
- 2017
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Ingår i: ACS Nano. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1936-0851 .- 1936-086X. ; 11:5, s. 4641-4650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Graphitic nitrogen-doped graphene is an excellent platform to study scattering processes of massless Dirac Fermions by charged impurities, in which high mobility can be preserved due to the absence of lattice defects through direct substitution of carbon atoms in the graphene lattice by nitrogen atoms. In this work, we report on electrical and magnetotransport measurements of high-quality graphitic nitrogen-doped graphene. We show that the substitutional nitrogen dopants in graphene introduce atomically sharp scatters for electrons but long-range Coulomb scatters for holes and, thus, graphitic nitrogen-doped graphene exhibits clear electron-hole asymmetry in transport properties. Dominant scattering processes of charge carriers in graphitic nitrogen-doped graphene are analyzed. It is shown that the electron-hole asymmetry originates from a distinct difference in intervalley scattering of electrons and holes. We have also carried out the magnetotransport measurements of graphitic nitrogen-doped graphene at different temperatures and the temperature dependences of intervalley scattering, intravalley scattering, and phase coherent scattering rates are extracted and discussed. Our results provide an evidence for the electron-hole asymmetry in the intervalley scattering induced by substitutional nitrogen dopants in graphene and shine a light on versatile and potential applications of graphitic nitrogen-doped graphene in electronic and valleytronic devices.
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| 16. |
- Li, Xiaochun, et al.
(författare)
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Bidirectional associations of intellectual and social activities with cognitive function among middle-aged and elderly adults in China
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Affective Disorders. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-0327. ; 319, s. 83-89
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Previous studies evaluating the association between leisure activities and cognitive function produced conflicting results. Different types of leisure activities may have different effects on cognition, and very few studies have explored their bidirectional associations. Our study aimed to explore whether intellectual and social activities had bidirectional associations with cognitive function among the middle-aged and elderly adults in China. Methods: Data was derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The data in this study were based on 11,549 participants aged 45 or older whose intellectual and social activities and cognitive function were assessed at baseline. Cross-lagged panel model was used to examine the temporal relationship of intellectual and social activities with cognitive function. Results: Totally, 5624 participants completed the third follow-up in 2018. The results showed that the better the cognitive function they had at baseline, the more intellectual activities they were engage in (β = 0.044, P < 0.001) and vice versa (β = 0.042, P = 0.001). Additionally, better cognitive function at baseline was significantly associated with more engagement in social activities (β = 0.028, P = 0.030); in contrast, higher engagement in social activities at baseline was not related to better cognitive function (β = −0.008, P = 0.523). Limitations: Engagement in social and intellectual activities was assessed via questionnaire. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that there was a bidirectional relationship between intellectual activities and cognitive function. However, participation in social activities did not slow down the decline in cognitive function. Participating in intellectual activities, compared to social activities, is especially beneficial for cognitive function.
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| 17. |
- Qian, Zhenchao, et al.
(författare)
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Triboelectric nanogenerators made of polybenzazole aerogels as fire-resistant negative tribo-materials
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nano Energy. - : ELSEVIER. - 2211-2855 .- 2211-3282. ; 64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Flame-retardant negative tribo-materials are desirable for triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) using under harsh conditions, such as thermal power fields and aerospace. The existed negative tribo-materials are mainly polymeric materials, and their high-temperature stability and fire resistance still need to be improved. Herein, poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) aerogels (PBOAs) were used as the negative tribo-materials in TENGs. Because of the large porosity and high specific surface area, the resultant TENGs exhibit maximum open circuit voltage, short-circuit current density and charge density of 40 V, 2.9 mA m(-2) and 72 mu C m(-2), respectively. The device can light 36 LED bulbs and charge the capacitor to 10 V within 250 s. The device can also be used as a self-powered, highly sensitive sensor for monitoring human motion and even slight collisions with an impulse of only 3 mu N s. PBOA has been paired with aluminum foil to fabricate PBOA/Al TENGs, which exhibit V on of 32 V(, )J(SC) of 1.2 mA M-2 and charge density of 32 mu C M-2 at a temperature as high as 350 degrees C, demonstrating the possibility of application of TENGs in high-temperature environments.
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| 18. |
- Ren, Luyao, et al.
(författare)
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Quartet DNA reference materials and datasets for comprehensively evaluating germline variant calling performance
- 2023
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Ingår i: Genome Biology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X. ; 24:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Genomic DNA reference materials are widely recognized as essential for ensuring data quality in omics research. However, relying solely on reference datasets to evaluate the accuracy of variant calling results is incomplete, as they are limited to benchmark regions. Therefore, it is important to develop DNA reference materials that enable the assessment of variant detection performance across the entire genome.RESULTS: We established a DNA reference material suite from four immortalized cell lines derived from a family of parents and monozygotic twins. Comprehensive reference datasets of 4.2 million small variants and 15,000 structural variants were integrated and certified for evaluating the reliability of germline variant calls inside the benchmark regions. Importantly, the genetic built-in-truth of the Quartet family design enables estimation of the precision of variant calls outside the benchmark regions. Using the Quartet reference materials along with study samples, batch effects are objectively monitored and alleviated by training a machine learning model with the Quartet reference datasets to remove potential artifact calls. Moreover, the matched RNA and protein reference materials and datasets from the Quartet project enables cross-omics validation of variant calls from multiomics data.CONCLUSIONS: The Quartet DNA reference materials and reference datasets provide a unique resource for objectively assessing the quality of germline variant calls throughout the whole-genome regions and improving the reliability of large-scale genomic profiling.
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| 19. |
- Senanayake, Indunil C., et al.
(författare)
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Fungal diversity notes 1611–1716: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on fungal genera and species emphasis in south China
- 2023
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Ingår i: Fungal Diversity. - 1560-2745 .- 1878-9129. ; 122
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article is the 15th contribution in the Fungal Diversity Notes series, wherein 115 taxa from three phyla, nine classes, 28 orders, 48 families, and 64 genera are treated. Fungal taxa described and illustrated in the present study include a new family, five new genera, 61 new species, five new combinations, one synonym, one new variety and 31 records on new hosts or new geographical distributions. Ageratinicolaceae fam. nov. is introduced and accommodated in Pleosporales. The new genera introduced in this study are Ageratinicola, Kevinia, Pseudomultiseptospora (Parabambusicolaceae), Marasmiellomycena, and Vizzinia (Porotheleaceae). Newly described species are Abrothallus altoandinus, Ageratinicola kunmingensis, Allocryptovalsa aceris, Allophoma yuccae, Apiospora cannae, A. elliptica, A. pallidesporae, Boeremia wisteriae, Calycina papaeana, Clypeococcum lichenostigmoides, Coniochaeta riskali-shoyakubovii, Cryphonectria kunmingensis, Diaporthe angustiapiculata, D. campylandrae, D. longipapillata, Diatrypella guangdongense, Dothiorella franceschinii, Endocalyx phoenicis, Epicoccum terminosporum, Fulvifomes karaiensis, F. pannaensis, Ganoderma ghatensis, Hysterobrevium baoshanense, Inocybe avellaneorosea, I. lucida, Jahnula oblonga, Kevinia lignicola, Kirschsteiniothelia guangdongensis, Laboulbenia caprina, L. clavulata, L. cobiae, L. cosmodisci, L. nilotica, L. omalii, L. robusta, L. similis, L. stigmatophora, Laccaria rubriporus, Lasiodiplodia morindae, Lyophyllum agnijum, Marasmiellomycena pseudoomphaliiformis, Melomastia beihaiensis, Nemania guangdongensis, Nigrograna thailandica, Nigrospora ficuum, Oxydothis chinensis, O. yunnanensis, Petriella thailandica, Phaeoacremonium chinensis, Phialocephala chinensis, Phytophthora debattistii, Polyplosphaeria nigrospora, Pronectria loweniae, Seriascoma acutispora, Setoseptoria bambusae, Stictis anomianthi, Tarzetta tibetensis, Tarzetta urceolata, Tetraploa obpyriformis, Trichoglossum beninense, and Tricoderma pyrrosiae. We provide an emendation for Urnula ailaoshanensis Agaricus duplocingulatoides var. brevisporus introduced as a new variety based on morphology and phylogeny.
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| 20. |
- Sun, Xiao-dong, et al.
(författare)
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Implementing a novel capture and ligation probe-PCR method in mass screen and treatment to support malaria elimination efforts in the China-Myanmar border region
- 2023
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Ingår i: Malaria Journal. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1475-2875 .- 1475-2875. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundMass screening and treatment (MSAT) for malaria elimination lacks an ideal diagnostic tool to allow sensitive and affordable test of the target population in the field. This study evaluated whether Capture and Ligation Probe-PCR (CLIP-PCR) could be used in a field MSAT in Laiza City, Myanmar.MethodsOn day 0, two dried blood spots were collected from each participant. On day 1, all samples were screened for Plasmodium in a 20 m(2) laboratory with workbench, a biosafety cabinet, a refrigerator, a benchtop shaking incubator and a qPCR machine, by four technicians using CLIP-PCR with sample pooling, at a health clinic of the Chinese bordering town of Nabang. On day 2, all positives were followed up and treated.ResultsOf 15,038 persons (65% of the total population) screened, 204 (1.36%) were CLIP-PCR positives. Among them, 188, 14, and 2 were infected with Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and P. vivax/P. falciparum mix, respectively. The testing capacity was 538 persons/day, with a cost of US$0.92 /person. The proportion of submicroscopic infection was 64.7%. All positive individuals received treatment within 72 h after blood collection.ConclusionUsing CLIP-PCR in MSAT in low transmission settings can support the malaria elimination efforts in the China-Myanmar border region.
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