We report the sequencing at 131× coverage, de novo assembly and analyses of the genome of a female Tibetan wild boar. We also resequenced the whole genomes of 30 Tibetan wild boars from six major distributed locations and 18 geographically related pigs in China. We characterized genetic diversity, population structure and patterns of evolution. We searched for genomic regions under selection, which includes genes that are involved in hypoxia, olfaction, energy metabolism and drug response. Comparing the genome of Tibetan wild boar with those of neighboring Chinese domestic pigs further showed the impact of thousands of years of artificial selection and different signatures of selection in wild boar and domestic pig. We also report genetic adaptations in Tibetan wild boar that are associated with high altitudes and characterize the genetic basis of increased salivation in domestic pig.

Hierarchically porous composites with mesoporous carbon wrapping around the macroporous graphene aerogel can combine the advantages of both components and are expected to show excellent performance in electrochemical energy devices. However, the fabrication of such composites is challenging due to the lack of an effective strategy to control the porosity of the mesostructured carbon layers. Here an interface‐induced co‐assembly approach towards hierarchically mesoporous carbon/graphene aerogel composites, possessing interconnected macroporous graphene networks covered by highly ordered mesoporous carbon with a diameter of ≈9.6 nm, is reported. And the orientation of the mesopores (vertical or horizontal to the surface of the composites) can be tuned by the ratio of the components. As the electrodes in supercapacitors, the resulting composites demonstrate outstanding electrochemical performances. More importantly, the synthesis strategy provides an ideal platform for hierarchically porous graphene composites with potential for energy storage and conversion applications.

No abstract

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) to fuels and chemicals with high product faradaic efficiency (FE) and current density is desirable but remains challenging. Herein, S-doped Bi2O3 electrocatalysts coupled with carbon nanotubes (S-Bi2O3-CNT) are synthesized for efficient ECR to formate. The obtained S2-Bi2O3-CNT (with a S doping amount of 0.7 at. %) is highly active for formate production (FE > 90%) over a wide current density range (2.77–48.6 mA cm–2), and a maximum formate FE of 97.06% can be achieved at −0.9 V. The significantly enhanced selectivity and activity is originated from the fast electron transfer, enhanced CO2 adsorption, and more undercoordinated Bi sites induced by the S doping. More importantly, density functional theory calculations revealed that S doping can lead to an electronic delocalization of Bi, which benefits the binding of *CO2 and *HCOO for ECR, while significantly inhibiting the hydrogen evolution reaction via weakening the adsorption of *H, thus helping achieve high current density and FE. This work paves a promising way to tuning ECR activities at the atomic level.

Branched-chain amino acids catabolism plays an important role in human cancers. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in males and the second in females, and the new global incidence is over 1.2 million cases. The branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase kinase (BCKDK) is a rate-limiting enzyme in branched-chain amino acids catabolism, which plays an important role in many serious human diseases. Here we investigated that abnormal branched-chain amino acids catabolism in colorectal cancer is a result of the disease process, with no role in disease initiation; BCKDK is widely expressed in colorectal cancer patients, and those patients that express higher levels of BCKDK have shorter survival times than those with lower levels; BCKDK promotes cell transformation or colorectal cancer ex vivo or in vivo. Mechanistically, BCKDK promotes colorectal cancer by enhancing the MAPK signaling pathway through direct MEK phosphorylation, rather than by branched-chain amino acids catabolism. And the process above could be inhibited by a BCKDK inhibitor, phenyl butyrate.

The ever-increasing concern for adverse climate changes has propelled worldwide research on the reduction of CO2 emission. In this regard, CO2 electroreduction (CER) to formate is one of the promising approaches to converting CO2 to a useful product. However, to achieve a high production rate of formate, the existing catalysts for CER fall short of expectation in maintaining the high formate selectivity and activity over a wide potential window. Through this study, we report that Bi2O3 nanosheets (NSs) grown on carbon nanofiber (CNF) with inherent hydrophobicity achieve a peak formate current density of 102.1 mA cm–2 and high formate Faradaic efficiency of >93% over a very wide potential window of 1000 mV. To the best of our knowledge, this outperforms all the relevant achievements reported so far. In addition, the Bi2O3 NSs on CNF demonstrate a good antiflooding capability when operating in a flow cell system and can deliver a current density of 300 mA cm–2. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the hydrophobic carbon surface can repel water molecules to form a robust solid–liquid–gas triple-phase boundary and a concentrated CO2 layer; both can boost CER activity with the local high concentration of CO2 and through inhibiting the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by reducing proton contacts. This water-repelling effect also increases the local pH at the catalyst surface, thus inhibiting HER further. More significantly, the concept and methodology of this hydrophobic engineering could be broadly applicable to other formate-producing materials from CER.

No abstract

3D core–shell Cu@rGO filled polymer composites with high thermal conductivity for advanced electronic packaging techniques.