DeepCBA: a deep learning framework for gene expression prediction in maize based on DNA sequence and chromatin interaction.

Chromatin interactions create spatial proximity between distal regulatory elements and target genes in the genome, which has an important impact on gene expression, transcriptional regulation, and phenotypic traits. To date, several methods have been developed for predicting gene expression. However, existing methods do not take into consideration the impact of chromatin interactions on target gene expression, thus potentially reduces the accuracy of gene expression prediction and mining of important regulatory elements. In this study, a highly accurate deep learning-based gene expression prediction model (DeepCBA) based on maize chromatin interaction data was developed. Compared with existing models, DeepCBA exhibits higher accuracy in expression classification and expression value prediction. The average Pearson correlation coefficients (PCC) for predicting gene expression using gene promoter proximal interactions, proximal-distal interactions, and proximal and distal interactions were 0.818, 0.625, and 0.929, respectively, representing an increase of 0.357, 0.16, and 0.469 over the PCC of traditional methods that only use gene proximal sequences. Some important motifs were identified through DeepCBA and were found to be enriched in open chromatin regions and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and have the molecular characteristic of tissue specificity. Importantly, the experimental results of maize flowering-related gene ZmRap2.7 and tillering-related gene ZmTb1 demonstrate the feasibility of DeepCBA in exploring regulatory elements that affect gene expression. Moreover, the promoter editing and verification of two reported genes (ZmCLE7, ZmVTE4) demonstrated new insights of DeepCBA in precise designing of gene expression and even future intelligent breeding. DeepCBA is available at http://www.deepcba.com/ or http://124.220.197.196/.

Insights into the evolution of chemical structure and pyrolysis reactivity of PVC-derived hydrochar during hydrothermal carbonization.

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is emerging as an effective technology to convert PVC into highly valuable materials via the removal of chlorine. This means that an in-depth understanding of HTC requires the hydrochar structure, thermal degradation behavior, and relationship between structure and thermal reactivity to be understood. In this work, two typical PVC waste materials were selected for HTC experiments at different temperatures. The structure of the hydrochar was characterized in detail by compositional analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, and 13C NMR analysis. Furthermore, the thermal degradation behavior of the hydrochar was analyzed. The changes after thermal degradation were used to establish a correlation with pyrolysis reactivity. The results showed that the C content and chemical structure of the hydrochar approached that of bituminous coal with increasing HTC temperature. Compared with the untreated PVC feedstock, the hydrochar exhibited higher levels of oxygen-containing functional groups on its surface, and its carbon skeleton structure changed from polymeric straight chains to short-chain paraffins, cycloalkanes, and aromatics. A negative correlation was observed between the CPI value of the hydrochar derived from SPVC and the HTC temperature. The structural evolution path of the hydrochar was altered by additives, which improved its thermal reactivity. These findings are expected to play a significant role in bridging the gap from the creation of a theoretical potential energy source to the development of a sustainable alternative renewable fuel.

Migration Mechanism of Chlorine during Hydrothermal Treatment of Rigid PVC Plastics.

Rigid PVC plastics (R-PVC) contain large amounts of chlorine, and improper disposal can adversely affect the environment. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of sufficient studies on hydrothermal treatment (HTT) for the efficient dechlorination of R-PVC. To investigate the migration mechanism of chlorine during the HTT of R-PVC, R-PVC is treated with HTT at temperatures ranging from 220 °C to 300 °C for 30 min to 90 min. Hydrochar is characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results revealed that the hydrothermal temperature is the key factor that affects the dechlorination of R-PVC. Dramatic dechlorination occurs at temperatures ranging from 240 °C to 260 °C, and the dechlorination efficiency increases with the increase in the hydrothermal temperature. The main mechanism for the dechlorination of R-PVC involves the nucleophilic substitution of chlorine by -OH. CaCO3 can absorb HCl released by R-PVC and hinder the autocatalytic degradation of R-PVC; hence, the dechlorination behavior of R-PVC is different from that of pure PVC resins. Based on these results, a possible degradation process for R-PVC is proposed. This study suggests that HTT technology can be utilized to convert organochlorines in R-PVC to calcium chloride, achieving the simultaneous dechlorination of R-PVC and utilization of products.

Hydrothermal carbonization of food waste for sustainable biofuel production: Advancements, challenges, and future prospects.

With the improvement of living standards, food waste (FW) has become one of the most important organic solid wastes worldwide. Owing to the high moisture content of FW, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology that can directly utilize the moisture in FW as the reaction medium, is widely used. Under mild reaction conditions and short treatment cycle, this technology can effectively and stably convert high-moisture FW into environmentally friendly hydrochar fuel. In view of the importance of this topic, this study comprehensively reviews the research progress of HTC of FW for biofuel synthesis, and critically summarizes the process parameters, carbonization mechanism, and clean applications. Physicochemical properties and micromorphological evolution of hydrochar, hydrothermal chemical reactions of each model component, and potential risks of hydrochar as a fuel are highlighted. Furthermore, carbonization mechanism of the HTC treatment process of FW and the granulation mechanism of hydrochar are systematically reviewed. Finally, potential risks and knowledge gaps in the synthesis of hydrochar from FW are presented and new coupling technologies are pointed out, highlighting the challenges and prospects of this study.

Vascular smooth muscle cells in intracranial aneurysms.

Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is a severe cerebrovascular disease characterized by abnormal bulging of cerebral vessels that may rupture and cause a stroke. The expansion of the aneurysm accompanies by the remodeling of vascular matrix. It is well-known that vascular remodeling is a process of synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM), which is highly dependent on the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The phenotypic switching of VSMC is considered to be bidirectional, including the physiological contractile phenotype and alternative synthetic phenotype in response to injury. There is increasing evidence indicating that VSMCs have the ability to switch to various phenotypes, including pro-inflammatory, macrophagic, osteogenic, foamy and mesenchymal phenotypes. Although the mechanisms of VSMC phenotype switching are still being explored, it is becoming clear that phenotype switching of VSMCs plays an essential role in IA formation, progression, and rupture. This review summarized the various phenotypes and functions of VSMCs associated with IA pathology. The possible influencing factors and potential molecular mechanisms of the VSMC phenotype switching were further discussed. Understanding how phenotype switching of VSMC contributed to the pathogenesis of unruptured IAs can bring new preventative and therapeutic strategies for IA.

High Performance Polarization-Resolved Photodetectors Based on Intrinsically Stretchable Organic Semiconductors.

Polarization-sensitive photodetectors based on anisotropic semiconductors sense both the intensity and polarization state information without extra optical components. Here, a self-powered organic photodetector (OPD) composed of intrinsically stretchable polymer donor PNTB6-Cl and non-fullerene acceptor Y6 is reported. The PNTB6-Cl:Y6 photoactive film accommodates a remarkable 100% strain without fracture, exhibiting a high optical anisotropy of 1.8 after strain alignment. The resulting OPD not only shows an impressive faint-light detection capability (high spectral responsivity of 0.45 A W-1 and high specific detectivity of 1012 Jones), but also has a high anisotropic responsivity ratio of 1.42 under the illumination of parallel and traversed polarized light. To the best of the authors' knowledge, both the detector performance and polarization features are among the best-performing OPDs and polarization-sensitive photodetectors. As a proof-of-concept, polarization-sensitive OPDs are also utilized to set up a polarimetric imaging system and full-Stokes polarimeter. This work explores the potential of highly stretchable organic semiconductors for state-of-art polarization imaging and spectroscopy applications.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization of organic solid wastes to hydrochar as potential fuel: A review.

The organic solid waste (OSW) is a potential resource that loses its original value in people's daily production process. It can be used for secondary energy utilization through hydrothermal technology, which is similar to artificially simulating the natural coalification process. Co-hydrothermal carbonization (co-HTC) is a promising thermochemical conversion pathway, and advanced mechanisms can eliminate the drawbacks of single-feedstock hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). The preparation and production process of hydrochar can solve the problems of energy crisis and environmental pollution. This paper comprehensively reviews the key mechanisms of co-HTC to prepare solid fuels, and reviews the development process and practical application of hydrothermal technology. To begin with, the physical and chemical properties and combustion performance of co-hydrochar depend on the production method, process parameters, and selection of raw materials. The co-hydrochar usually has a higher HHV and a low atomic ratio of H/C and O/C, which improves combustion performance. Subsequently, the transformation path of the hydrothermal process of lignocellulosic and protein OSW was comprehensively expounded, and the reaction mechanism of the co-HTC of the two OSWs was effectively proposed. The effect of the ratio of different raw materials on the synergistic effect of co-HTC was also analyzed. Furthermore, the typical advantages and disadvantages of environmental safety, technical economy, and practical application in the co-HTC process are expounded. All in all, this review provides some foundations and new directions for the co-HTC of OSWs to prepare potential fuel. In addition, several prospects for the development and integrated application of co-HTC are presented in the future.

Intrinsically Stretchable Organic Solar Cells with Simultaneously Improved Mechanical Robustness and Morphological Stability Enabled by a Universal Crosslinking Strategy.

Developing intrinsically stretchable organic solar cells (OSCs) with excellent mechanical robustness and long-term operation stability is highly demanded for practical applications. Here, the representative PM6/Y6 active layer film, crosslinked by a photo-crosslinkable small molecule 2,6-bis(4-azidobenzylidene)cyclohexanone (BAC) containing azide groups, exhibits a significantly enhanced stretchability of 18% and toughness of 6.94 MJ m-3 , compared to non-crosslinked film (stretchability of 4.5% and toughness of 0.75 MJ m-3 ). It is found that controlling the crosslinking density, including crosslinker concentration and crosslinking time, plays a vital impact on the stretchability and mechanical toughness of active layer film. The resulting intrinsically stretchable OSCs achieve a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.4% and retain 80% of its performance even under the large strain of 20%. To date, this is the highest PCE for intrinsically stretchable OSCs based on small molecular acceptors. Moreover, crosslinking of active layer film suppresses the crystallization of PM6 polymer chains and avoids the excessive aggregation of small molecular acceptors under thermal heating or light illumination, leading to a stabilized film morphology and significantly improved device stability. Overall, these results provide a universal strategy to simultaneously enhance the mechanical properties and stability of OSCs without sacrificing their photovoltaic performance.

Highly Efficient and Super Stable Full-Color Quantum Dots Light-Emitting Diodes with Solution-Processed All-Inorganic Charge Transport Layers.

High performance and super stable all-inorganic full-color quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) are constructed by adopting solution-processed Mg-doped NiOx (Mg-NiOx ) nanoparticles as hole transport layer (HTL) and Al-doped ZnO (AZO) as electron transport layer (ETL). Mg-NiOx nanoparticles possess the advantages of low-temperature solution processability, intrinsic stability, and controllable electronic properties. UV-ozone (UVO) treatment is applied to the Mg-NiOx film to modulate its surface composition. By carefully controlling the UVO treating time, favorable energy levels can be achieved to minimize the energy barrier for hole injection. At the cathode side, Al-doping can reduce the conductivity of ZnO ETL and decrease the interface charge transfer, effectively, thus leading to more balanced charge injection and consequent high luminance and efficiency. The maximum luminance and EQE can reach as high as 38 444 cd m-2 and 5.09% for R-QLEDs, 177 825 cd m-2 and 10.1% for G-QLEDs, and 3103 cd m-2 and 2.19% for B-QLEDs. The luminance values are the highest ever reported for all-inorganic QLEDs. Furthermore, the all-inorganic devices show much better resistance to water and oxygen existing in air. The results show that the ion-doped NiOx and AZO nanoparticles would facilitate the design and development of highly efficient and super stable QLEDs.

High Performance Quasi-2D Perovskite Sky-Blue Light-Emitting Diodes Using a Dual-Ligand Strategy.

For quasi-2D perovskite light-emitting diodes, the introduction of insulating bulky cation reduces the charge transport property, leading to lowered brightness and increased turn-on voltage. Herein, a dual-ligand strategy is adopted to prepare perovskite films by using an appropriate ratio of i-butylammonium (iBA) and phenylethylammonium (PEA) as capping ligands. The introduction of iBA enhances the binding energy of the ligands on the surface of the quasi-2D perovskite, and effectively controls the proportion of 2D perovskite to allow more efficient energy transfer, resulting in the great enhancement of the electric and luminescent properties of the perovskite. The photoluminescence (PL) mapping of the perovskite films exhibits that enhanced photoluminescence performance with better uniformity and stronger intensity can be achieved with this dual-ligand strategy. By adjusting the proportion of the two ligands, sky-blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) with electroluminescence (EL) peak located 485 nm are achieved with a maximum luminance up to 1130 cd m-2 and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to 7.84%. In addition, the color stability and device stability are significantly enhanced by using a dual-ligand strategy. This simple and feasible method paves the way for improving the performance of quasi-2D PeLEDs.