Conventional wisdom is that the MAI and FAI are stable in the solution, but actually they are not. We demonstrated that the MAI first deprotonated to form methylamine (MA), and then MA reacted with FAI to form two condensation products N-methyl FAI and N, N 0 -dimethyl FAI. Moreover, triethyl borate was introduced to stabilize the perovskite precursor solution, which significantly reduced the impure phase in the perovskite film and enhanced the device performance and reproducibility.

The establishment of agricultural economies based upon domestic animals began independently in many parts of the world and led to both increases in human population size and the migration of people carrying domestic plants and animals. The precise circumstances of the earliest phases of these events remain mysterious given their antiquity and the fact that subsequent waves of migrants have often replaced the first. Through the use of more than 1,500 modern (including 151 previously uncharacterized specimens) and 18 ancient (representing six East Asian archeological sites) pig (Sus scrofa) DNA sequences sampled across East Asia, we provide evidence for the long-term genetic continuity between modern and ancient Chinese domestic pigs. Although the Chinese case for independent pig domestication is supported by both genetic and archaeological evidence, we discuss five additional (and possibly) independent domestications of indigenous wild boar populations: one in India, three in peninsular Southeast Asia, and one off the coast of Taiwan. Collectively, we refer to these instances as "cryptic domestication," given the current lack of corroborating archaeological evidence. In addition, we demonstrate the existence of numerous populations of genetically distinct and widespread wild boar populations that have not contributed maternal genetic material to modern domestic stocks. The overall findings provide the most complete picture yet of pig evolution and domestication in East Asia, and generate testable hypotheses regarding the development and spread of early farmers in the Far East.Asian colonization | mtDNA | phylogeography

Inorganic CsPbI 3 is promising to enhance the thermal stability of perovskite solar cells. The dimethylamine iodide (DMAI) derived method is currently the most efficient way to achieve high efficiency, but the effect of DMAI has not been fully explained. Herein, the chemical composition and phase evolution of the mixed DMAI/CsPbI 3 layer during thermal treatment has been studied. The results demonstrate that, with the common DMAI/CsI/PbI 2 recipe in DMSO solvent, a mixed perovskite DMA 0.15 Cs 0.85 PbI 3 is first formed through a solid reaction between DMAPbI 3 and Cs 4 PbI 6 . Further thermal treatment will transform the mixed perovskite phase directly to γ-CsPbI 3 and then spontaneously convert to δ-CsPbI 3 . It has been also demonstrated that the DMA 0.15 Cs 0.85 PbI 3 phase is thermodynamically stable and shows a bandgap of 1.67 eV, which is narrower than 1.73 eV of γ-CsPbI 3 . The device efficiency of the mixed DMA 0.15 Cs 0.85 PbI 3 perovskite is therefore highly improved in comparison with the pure inorganic γ-CsPbI 3 perovskite.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have attracted great attention as promising anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) on account of their high capacity and improved cyclability compared with bulk silicon. The interface behavior, especially the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), plays a significant role in the performance and stability of the electrodes. We report herein an in situ single nanowire atomic force microscopy (AFM) method to investigate the interface electrochemistry of silicon nanowire (SiNW) electrode. The morphology and Young's modulus of the individual SiNW anode surface during the SEI growth were quantitatively tracked. Three distinct stages of the SEI formation on the SiNW anode were observed. On the basis of the potential-dependent morphology and Young's modulus evolution of SEI, a mixture-packing structural model was proposed for the SEI film on SiNW anode.

We present the results for CAPRI Round 46, the third joint CASP‐CAPRI protein assembly prediction challenge. The Round comprised a total of 20 targets including 14 homo‐oligomers and 6 heterocomplexes. Eight of the homo‐oligomer targets and one heterodimer comprised proteins that could be readily modeled using templates from the Protein Data Bank, often available for the full assembly. The remaining 11 targets comprised 5 homodimers, 3 heterodimers, and two higher‐order assemblies. These were more difficult to model, as their prediction mainly involved “ab‐initio” docking of subunit models derived from distantly related templates. A total of ~30 CAPRI groups, including 9 automatic servers, submitted on average ~2000 models per target. About 17 groups participated in the CAPRI scoring rounds, offered for most targets, submitting ~170 models per target. The prediction performance, measured by the fraction of models of acceptable quality or higher submitted across all predictors groups, was very good to excellent for the nine easy targets. Poorer performance was achieved by predictors for the 11 difficult targets, with medium and high quality models submitted for only 3 of these targets. A similar performance “gap” was displayed by scorer groups, highlighting yet again the unmet challenge of modeling the conformational changes of the protein components that occur upon binding or that must be accounted for in template‐based modeling. Our analysis also indicates that residues in binding interfaces were less well predicted in this set of targets than in previous Rounds, providing useful insights for directions of future improvements.

Rose-comb, a classical monogenic trait of chickens, is characterized by a drastically altered comb morphology compared to the single-combed wild-type. Here we show that Rose-comb is caused by a 7.4 Mb inversion on chromosome 7 and that a second Rose-comb allele arose by unequal crossing over between a Rose-comb and wild-type chromosome. The comb phenotype is caused by the relocalization of the MNR2 homeodomain protein gene leading to transient ectopic expression of MNR2 during comb development. We also provide a molecular explanation for the first example of epistatic interaction reported by Bateson and Punnett 104 years ago, namely that walnut-comb is caused by the combined effects of the Rose-comb and Pea-comb alleles. Transient ectopic expression of MNR2 and SOX5 (causing the Pea-comb phenotype) occurs in the same population of mesenchymal cells and with at least partially overlapping expression in individual cells in the comb primordium. Rose-comb has pleiotropic effects, as homozygosity in males has been associated with poor sperm motility. We postulate that this is caused by the disruption of the CCDC108 gene located at one of the inversion breakpoints. CCDC108 is a poorly characterized protein, but it contains a MSP (major sperm protein) domain and is expressed in testis. The study illustrates several characteristic features of the genetic diversity present in domestic animals, including the evolution of alleles by two or more consecutive mutations and the fact that structural changes have contributed to fast phenotypic evolution.

BackgroundIntramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the important factors influencing meat quality, however, for chickens, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying this trait have not yet been determined. In this study, a systematic identification of candidate genes and new pathways related to IMF deposition in chicken breast tissue has been made using gene expression profiles of two distinct breeds: Beijing-you (BJY), a slow-growing Chinese breed possessing high meat quality and Arbor Acres (AA), a commercial fast-growing broiler line.ResultsAgilent cDNA microarray analyses were conducted to determine gene expression profiles of breast muscle sampled at different developmental stages of BJY and AA chickens. Relative to d 1 when there is no detectable IMF, breast muscle at d 21, d 42, d 90 and d 120 (only for BJY) contained 1310 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in BJY and 1080 DEGs in AA. Of these, 34–70 DEGs related to lipid metabolism or muscle development processes were examined further in each breed based on Gene Ontology (GO) analysis. The expression of several DEGs was correlated, positively or negatively, with the changing patterns of lipid content or breast weight across the ages sampled, indicating that those genes may play key roles in these developmental processes. In addition, based on KEGG pathway analysis of DEGs in both BJY and AA chickens, it was found that in addition to pathways affecting lipid metabolism (pathways for MAPK & PPAR signaling), cell junction-related pathways (tight junction, ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, regulation of actin cytoskeleton), which play a prominent role in maintaining the integrity of tissues, could contribute to the IMF deposition.ConclusionThe results of this study identified potential candidate genes associated with chicken IMF deposition and imply that IMF deposition in chicken breast muscle is regulated and mediated not only by genes and pathways related to lipid metabolism and muscle development, but also by others involved in cell junctions. These findings establish the groundwork and provide new clues for deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying IMF deposition in poultry. Further studies at the translational and posttranslational level are now required to validate the genes and pathways identified here.

An easy and scalable methylamine (MA) gas healing method was realized for inorganic cesium-based perovskite (CsPbX 3 )l ayers by incorporating ac ertain amount of MAX (X = IorBr) initiators into the raw film. It was found that the excess MAX accelerated the absorption of the MA gas into the CsPbX 3 film and quickly turned it into al iquid intermediate phase.T hrough the healing process,ahighly uniform and highly crystalline CsPbX 3 film with enhanced photovoltaic performance was obtained. Moreover,t he chemical interactions between as eries of halides and MA gas molecules were studied, and the results could offer guidance in further optimizations of the healing strategy.Inthe past decade,organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have witnessed rapid development. [1] The power conversion efficiency(PCE) of PSCs has been rapidly increased to up to 23.7 %. [2] Not only small-area laboratory devices,but also modules with up to 277 cm 2 in size have been reported with high PCEs of more than 17 %. [3] Currently,the stability of these organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials is considered to be the biggest challenge for their future commercial utilization. [4] One promising direction to address this issue is to replace the organic cations with inorganic cations such as Cs + to form all-inorganic perovskite materials. [5] All-inorganic perovskite materials CsPbX 3 (X = I, Br) have aband gap ranging from 1.72 eV for CsPbI 3 to 2.3 eV for CsPbBr 3 . [6] Among them, the cesium/lead mixed-halide perovskite CsPbI 2 Br has attracted greatest attention because it provides the best balance between band gap and phase stability. [7] Thes calable preparation of inorganic PSCs is undoubtedly another urgent issue.Although many methods have been developed for organic-inorganic perovskite films,barely any of them can be directly translated to the preparation of allinorganic perovskite layers. [8] Fori nstance,t he use of hydriodic acid (HI) additive in the precursor solution was confirmed to enable the formation of the hybrid mixed-cation perovskite phase Cs x DMA 1Àx PbI 3 but not that of the inorganic CsPbX 3 . [9] To obtain high-quality perovskite films,there are two general approaches:1 )Controlling the film crystallization and growth process during film deposition;a nd 2) introducing an additional post-treatment process to improve the film quality.Foro rganic-inorganic perovskite films,t he methylamine (MA) gas healing method has been widely studied in the past three years and has exhibited great compatibility with commercial film-making equipment. [10] Thef ormation of al iquid intermediate phase (normally MAPbI 3 ·x MA) plays acritical role in the MA gas healing process. [10a-c,11] We found that, quite differently,the previously used MA molecules can hardly break the ···Cs À X À Pb··· chemical bonds in the inorganic CsPbX 3 perovskite phase to form al iquid intermediate phase.T os olve this problem, herein, an excess of am ethylammonium halide (MAX) was introduced to the CsPbX 3 initial films to form mix...