Temporal control of development is an important aspect of pattern formation that awaits complete molecular analysis. We identified lin-57 as a member of the C. elegans heterochronic gene pathway, which ensures that postembryonic developmental events are appropriately timed. Loss of lin-57 function causes the hypodermis to terminally differentiate and acquire adult character prematurely. lin-57 is hbl-1, revealing a role for the worm hunchback homolog in control of developmental time. Significantly, fly hunchback (hb) temporally specifies cell fates in the nervous system. The hbl-1/lin-57 3'UTR is required for postembryonic downregulation in the hypodermis and nervous system and contains multiple putative binding sites for temporally regulated microRNAs, including let-7. Indeed, we find that hbl-1/lin-57 is regulated by let-7, at least in the nervous system. Examination of the hb 3'UTR reveals potential binding sites for known fly miRNAs. Thus, evolutionary conservation of hunchback genes may include temporal control of cell fate specification and microRNA-mediated regulation.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn-based batteries, benefiting from their good reliability, low cost, high energy/power densities, and ecofriendliness, show great potential in energy storage systems. However, the poor cycling performance due to the formation of Zn dendrites greatly hinders their practical applications. In this work, a trilayer 3D CC-ZnO@C-Zn anode is obtained by in situ growing ZIFs (zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks) derived ZnO@C coreshell nanorods on carbon cloth followed by Zn deposition, which exhibits excellent antidendrite performance. Using CC-ZnO@C-Zn as the anode and a branch-like Co(CO 3 ) 0.5 (OH) x ·0.11H 2 O@CoMoO 4 (CC-CCH@CMO) as the cathode, a Zn-Co battery is rationally designed, displaying excellent energy/power densities (235 Wh kg −1 , 12.6 kW kg −1 ) and remarkable cycling performance (71.1% after 5000 cycles). Impressively, when using a gel electrolyte, a highly customizable, fiber-shaped flexible all-solid-state Zn-Co battery is assembled for the first time, which presents a high energy density of 4.6 mWh cm −3 , peak power density of 0.42 W cm −3 , and long durability (82% capacity retention after 1600 cycles) as well as excellent flexibility. The unique 3D electrode design in this study provides a novel approach to achieve high-performance Zn-based batteries, showing promising applications in flexible and portable energy-storage systems.

Benefiting from the loose assembly conditions, high safety and environmental-friendly characteristics, rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) are attracting intensive attention. In fact, either the water in electrolyte or electrode materials...

further development. [2] Hence, exploring novel approaches to achieve more efficient energy storage is highly demanded. Recently, aqueous batteries are attracting unprecedented attention particularly owing to their high safety, high ion conductivity, low cost, and environmental friendliness. [3] To date, numerous aqueous batteries based on Li + , Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Zn 2+ , Al 3+ , Fe 3+ , and/or mixed metal ions as charge carriers have been reported, [4] which find potential applications in fields such as grid-scale energy storage, wearable devices, and etc. [5] Among them, as a promising candidate, the rechargeable aqueous Zn-based batteries (AZBs) including Zn-ion batteries (mild electrolyte), [6] Zn-Co/Ag/ Ni alkaline batteries [7] and Zn-air batteries in alkaline electrolyte [8] have been extensively studied due to their unparalleled advantages of Zn anode. In general, metal Zn has the features of high theoretical capacity (820 mAh g −1 ), high electrical conductivity, nontoxicity, easy processing, and suitable redox potential (−0.76 V vs standard hydrogen electrode). [9] However, most of AZBs reported so far have encountered the same challenges, which are the narrow voltage window, unsatisfactory capacity, and poor cycling performance. [10] For example, all Zn-ion batteries operated in mild electrolyte including Zn//V-based, Zn//Mn-based, and Zn//Prussian blue analogs-based hold a narrow voltage window of 0.3-1.6, 0.9-1.8, and 0.2-1.8 V, respectively. [11] Even though AZBs in alkaline electrolyte display a higher voltage than that achieved in mild medium, their voltage windows are still only about 1.2-1.9 V. [12] Meanwhile, the alkaline electrolytes show stronger corrosion than mild neutral electrolytes, which greatly limit their wide applications. Moreover, the unstable cycling performance in AZBs due to the Zn dendrites and side reaction on the surface of Zn anode is also unsatisfactory. [10] To date, the electrolyte optimization or structural design are the common ways to suppress the growth of Zn dendrite and improve the cycling stability. For example, Chen and co-workers reported that aqueous electrolyte Zn(CF 3 SO 3 ) 2 can suppress the formation of detrimental dendrites in AZBs owing to the better reversibility and faster kinetics of Zn deposition/dissolution than that in ZnSO 4 electrolyte. [13] However, Zn(CF 3 SO 3 ) 2 is too expensive (≈$ 8.1 g −1 , prices from Sigma-Aldrich) to be applied With the increasing energy crisis and environmental pollution, rechargeable aqueous Zn-based batteries (AZBs) are receiving unprecedented attention due to their list of merits, such as low cost, high safety, and nontoxicity. However, the limited voltage window, Zn dendrites, and relatively low specific capacity are still great challenges. In this work, a new reaction mechanism of reversible Mn 2+ ion oxidation deposition is introduced to AZBs. The assembled Mn 2+ /Zn 2+ hybrid battery (Mn 2+ /Zn 2+ HB) based on a hybrid storage mechanism including Mn 2+ ion deposition, Zn 2+ ion insertion, and co...

No abstract

Malate, the predominant organic acid in many fruits, is a crucial component of the organoleptic quality of fruit, including taste and flavor. The genetic and environmental mechanisms affecting malate metabolism in fruit cells have been studied extensively. However, the transcriptional regulation of malate-metabolizing enzymes and vacuolar transporters remains poorly understood. Our previous studies demonstrated that MdMYB1 modulates anthocyanin accumulation and vacuolar acidification by directly activating vacuolar transporters, including MdVHA-B1, MdVHA-E, MdVHP1 and MdtDT. Interestingly, we isolated and identified a MYB transcription factor, MdMYB73, a distant relative of MdMYB1 in this study. It was subsequently found that MdMYB73 protein bound directly to the promoters of MdALMT9 (aluminum-activated malate transporter 9), MdVHA-A (vacuolar ATPase subunit A) and MdVHP1 (vacuolar pyrophosphatase 1), transcriptionally activating their expression and thereby enhancing their activities. Analyses of transgenic apple calli demonstrated that MdMYB73 influenced malate accumulation and vacuolar pH. Furthermore, MdCIbHLH1 interacted with MdMYB73 and enhanced its activity upon downstream target genes. These findings help to elucidate how MdMYB73 directly modulates the vacuolar transport system to affect malate accumulation and vacuolar pH in apple.

High energy density at low electric field is achieved for polymer nanocomposites by modulating topological structure.

Although the processing and eating qualities of noodles are largely related to the quality and quantity of wheat protein (gluten), the importance of starch, a major ingredient of wheat flour, is often overlooked. Recent developments on the multilevel structural model of starch have brought new insights into the role of starch for better processing and noodle eating qualities. With critical analysis and discussion, this review outlines the comprehensive relationships between the multilevel (molecular, crystalline, and granular) starch structure, noodle eating qualities, and related physicochemical properties. Further, the major and minor structural features of wheat starch and their contributions toward noodle quality are summarized and presented as a schematic diagram, which shows the effects of starch structure on cooked noodles. These features provide new insights for the scientific community, as well as industry, into the role of starch, along with gluten, on the quality of noodles.