Ultrabithorax is a key regulator for the dimorphism of wings,a main cause for the outbreak of planthoppers in rice

Rice planthoppers, the most devastating rice pests, occur in two wing forms: the short-wing form for rapid population growth and long-wing form for long-distance migration, which together create the mechanism for outbreak. Here we show that Ultrabithorax (Ubx) is a key regulator for switching between the long- and short-wing forms of rice planthoppers. Ubx is expressed in both forewing and hindwing pads, which is different from the canonical model of Ubx expression. In brown planthoppers, expression of Ubx (NlUbx) is regulated by nutritional status of the rice host. High-quality young plants induce NlUbx expression leading to the short-wing form; low-quality ripe plants reduce NlUbx expression resulting in long-wing form. We also showed that NlUbx is regulated by the insulin receptors NlInR1 and NlInR2. The default expression of NlInR1 inhibits NlUbx resulting in long-wings, while high-quality hosts induce NlInR2 expression, which represses NlInR1 thus promoting NlUbx expression to produce short-wings.     

Paving the road toward the use of β-Fe2O3 in solar water splitting: Raman identification,phase transformation and strategies for phase stabilization

Although β-Fe₂O₃ has a high theoretical solar-to-hydrogen efficiency because of its narrow band gap, the study of β-Fe₂O₃ photoanodes for water splitting is elusive as a result of their metastable nature. Raman identification of β-Fe₂O₃ is theoretically and experimentally investigated in this study for the first time, thus clarifying the debate about its Raman spectrum in the literature. Phase transformation of β-Fe₂O₃ to α-Fe₂O₃ was found to potentially take place under laser and electron irradiation as well as annealing. Herein, phase transformation of β-Fe₂O₃ to α-Fe₂O₃ was inhibited by introduction of Zr doping, and β-Fe₂O₃ was found to withstand a higher annealing temperature without any phase transformation. The solar water splitting photocurrent of the Zr-doped β-Fe₂O₃ photoanode was increased by 500% compared to that of the pure β-Fe₂O₃ photoanode. Additionally, Zr-doped β-Fe₂O₃ exhibited very good stability during the process of solar water splitting. These results indicate that by improving its thermal stability, metastable β-Fe₂O₃ film is a promising photoanode for solar water splitting.     

Diagnosis of CO2 dynamics and fluxes in global coastal oceans

Global coastal oceans as a whole represent an important carbon sink but, due to high spatial–temporal variability, a mechanistic conceptualization of the coastal carbon cycle is still under development, hindering the modelling and inclusion of coastal carbon in Earth System Models. Although temperature is considered an important control of sea surface pCO₂, we show that the latitudinal distribution of global coastal surface pCO₂ does not match that of temperature, and its inter-seasonal changes are substantially regulated by non-thermal factors such as water mass mixing and net primary production. These processes operate in both ocean-dominated and river-dominated margins, with carbon and nutrients sourced from the open ocean and land, respectively. These can be conceptualized by a semi-analytical framework that assesses the consumption of dissolved inorganic carbon relative to nutrients, to determine how a coastal system is a CO₂ source or sink. The framework also finds utility in accounting for additional nutrients in organic forms and testing hypotheses such as using Redfield stoichiometry, and is therefore an essential step toward comprehensively understanding and modelling the role of the coastal ocean in the global carbon cycle.     

Electro-mechanically controlled assembly of reconfigurable 3D mesostructures and electronic devices based on dielectric elastomer platforms

The manufacture of 3D mesostructures is receiving rapidly increasing attention, because of the fundamental significance and practical applications across wide-ranging areas. The recently developed approach of buckling-guided assembly allows deterministic formation of complex 3D mesostructures in a broad set of functional materials, with feature sizes spanning nanoscale to centimeter-scale. Previous studies mostly exploited mechanically controlled assembly platforms using elastomer substrates, which limits the capabilities to achieve on-demand local assembly, and to reshape assembled mesostructures into distinct 3D configurations. This work introduces a set of design concepts and assembly strategies to utilize dielectric elastomer actuators as powerful platforms for the electro-mechanically controlled 3D assembly. Capabilities of sequential, local loading with desired strain distributions allow access to precisely tailored 3D mesostructures that can be reshaped into distinct geometries, as demonstrated by experimental and theoretical studies of ∼30 examples. A reconfigurable inductive–capacitive radio-frequency circuit consisting of morphable 3D capacitors serves as an application example.     

Experiments on Cu-isotope fractionation between chlorine-bearing fluid and silicate magma: implications for fluid exsolution and porphyry Cu deposits

Hydrothermal fluid is essential for transporting metals in the crust and mantle. To explore the potential of Cu isotopes as a tracer of hydrothermal-fluid activity, Cu-isotope fractionation factors between Cl-bearing aqueous fluids and silicate magmas (andesite, dacite, rhyolite dacite, rhyolite and haplogranite) were experimentally calibrated. Fluids containing 1.75–14 wt.% Cl were mixed together with rock powders in Au₉₅Cu₅ alloy capsules, which were equilibrated in cold-seal pressure vessels for 5–13 days at 800–850°C and 2 kbar. The elemental and Cu-isotopic compositions of the recovered aqueous fluid and solid phases were analyzed by (LA-) ICP–MS and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. Our experimental results show that the fluid phases are consistently enriched in heavy Cu isotope (⁶⁵Cu) relative to the coexisting silicates. The Cu-isotope fractionation factor (Δ⁶⁵Cu_FLUID-MELT) ranges from 0.08 ± 0.01‰ to 0.69 ± 0.02‰. The experimental results show that the Cu-isotopic fractionation factors between aqueous fluids and silicates strongly depend on the Cu speciation in the fluids (e.g. CuCl(H₂O), CuCl₂^– and CuCl₃²⁻) and silicate melts (CuO_1/2), suggesting that the exsolved fluids may have higher δ⁶⁵Cu than the residual magmas. Our results suggest the elevated δ⁶⁵Cu values in Cu-enriched rocks could be produced by addition of aqueous fluids exsolved from magmas. Together with previous studies on Cu isotopes in the brine and vapor phases of porphyry deposits, our results are helpful for better understanding Cu-mineralization processes.     

中国体育用品全球贸易发展:现状特征与对策建议

新时代的体育强国建设需要体育产业在高质量发展上取得新突破,而体育用品对外贸易又在体育产业高质量发展中发挥着独特作用。研究基于中国海关发布的对外贸易官方数据,对2014—2019 年我国体育用品进出口贸易发展的基本特征进行分析。结果表明,我国体育用品对外贸易发展势头良好,贸易总体规模持续扩大。体育用品进口贸易规模非常小,发展速度缓慢,但出口贸易发展活跃,贸易差额持续扩大;体育用品对外贸易主要集中于北美洲、欧洲和亚洲,呈持续增长趋势,而与拉丁美洲、大洋洲、非洲的贸易往来发展缓慢,洲际分布特征表现为“层级结构明显,两极分化严重”。进口贸易主要源于亚洲、欧洲与北美洲,出口主要分布于北美洲、欧洲和亚洲;我国大陆31个省市(自治区)与国外均存在体育用品贸易往来,但两极分化突出,东部沿海省市发展活跃,中西部省市发展滞后;体育用品对外贸易发展的全球市场覆盖率持续扩大,对外贸易的市场集中度非常高。进口贸易的市场覆盖率较低,出口贸易的市场范围越来越大,但对少数贸易目的地的依赖性过大,导致中国体育用品对外贸易面临巨大市场风险。据此,积极采取有效措施,培育体育用品对外贸易竞争优势,促进我国体育用品对外贸易健康与可持续发展。     

河南省高校图书馆科研实力分析

通过中国学术期刊全文检索系统检索平台.对河南省高校图书馆2002-2006年五年间学术成果的影响力作了深入细致的统计和研究,并对全省高校图书馆科研中存在的问题及今后发展方向作了认真的分析.     

河南工业大学图书馆粮油食品专题特色数据库建设实践

文献以CALIS"十五"期间专题特色数据库子项目--河南工业大学图书馆"粮油食品专题特色数据库"的建库实践为例,从实践的角度,对高校图书馆特色数据库建设的基本原则、技术要求、内容结构及建设过程中应注意的问题等进行了探讨,并提出了解决问题的若干建议.     

感动中国的季羡林

住在解放军总医院病房的97高龄老人季羡林,时时牵挂着四川汶川地震灾区的灾情和受灾群众。"至少有三次,季先生合上双眼,眼泪大滴大滴地滚落……"季羡林先生身边的工作人员说。四川汶川大地震时,季先生正值牙龈发炎而伴有低烧。从那一刻起,季先生总是坐在沙发上,盯着电视荧屏,让工作人员用特大声音