Distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) testing is the statutory basis and core element for the protection and registration of new plant varieties. In this study, 116 genetically diverse maize accessions (inbred lines, CS hybrids, CH) were evaluated using phenotypic data from Xinzhou and Datong (2024-2025). The spatiotemporal stability of 39 DUS characteristics was systematically analyzed using coefficient of variation (CV), principal component analysis (PCA), and UPGMA clustering. The results showed the following: (1) characteristics were categorized into three stability groups based on CV quantitative analysis, with 20 characteristics identified as spatiotemporally stable to serve as a routine observation baseline, while C2, C25, and C30.2 were recognized as time-sensitive characteristic. (2) PCA indicated that the spatial environment primarily controlled phenotypic variation (cumulative variance contribution: 74.92%). An optimized evaluation system using seven core characteristics, including plant height and grain type, was established to simplify the DUS testing process. (3) Validation showed that the spatial repetition model achieved a cluster retrieval (CR) rate of 92.31%, with accuracies of 94.36% for distinctness and 96.23% for uniformity. These values significantly exceeded those of the traditional temporal model, effectively reducing the impact of environmental noise and annual climatic variation. This study established an efficient spatial repetition testing paradigm based on characteristic stability and demonstrated the scientific feasibility of reasonably shortening testing cycles, thereby providing a rigorous scientific foundation for optimizing Chinese maize DUS testing standards and enhancing the efficiency of substantive examinations.

Unlike artificial systems that execute externally specified commands, the brain constructs contextual representations to guide behaviors that satisfy innate and learned desires generated by the Affective Valuation System (AVS). However, the neural mechanisms by which contextual representations are formed, selected, maintained, and replaced to generate conscious state transitions remain unknown. Here, we propose the Dynamic Contextual Element Memory (DCEM) model as a biophysical framework within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The DCEM is conceived as a dynamic contextual memory consisting of numerous logical Contextual Elements (CEs), each implemented by multiple physical cortical columns. AVS signals initiate contextual exploration in the DCEM and guide contextual selection, maintenance, and transition. Recurrent interactions between the DCEM and the parietal and temporal association cortices generate γ-band contextual candidates from sensory and memory information. Physical columns of candidates selected by Contextual Element Decision Neurons (CEDeN) in the mediodorsal thalamus receive synchronized feedback and form a coherent β-band Contextual Element Loop (CE Loop) representing a single logical Contextual Element. Outputs from DCEM Layer 5 redistribute the selected context throughout the association cortices, allowing AVS to shape candidates. CE Loops that lose CEDeN support following re-evaluation of behavioral outcomes or new information fail to maintain synchrony and disappear. We therefore propose that conscious state transitions occur through the formation, maintenance, disappearance, and replacement of CE Loops. This model was naturally derived by extending the intrinsic biophysical properties of neurons identified in our studies to cortical networks while integrating accumulated findings from modern observational techniques, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neuroscience.

Aquaporins (AQPs) facilitate transmembrane water transport and are essential for plant growth, development, and stress adaptation. Camellia oleifera is an important woody edible oil tree. Drought stress frequently occurs during the rapid fruit expansion and maturation stages, and AQPs might mediate its drought response. However, the diversity, molecular characteristics and biological functions of AQPs in C. oleifera remain largely uncharacterized. Here, 166 CoAQPs were identified and classified into five subfamilies based on phylogenetic analysis. They were mainly localized to the plasma membrane and vacuole. Members within the same subfamily shared conserved gene structures and motif compositions. Segmental duplication was the main driving force for CoAQPs expansion. The promoter region of CoAQPs contained abundant cis-acting elements associated with light response, phytohormone response, stress response, and plant growth and development. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed that 50 CoAQPs were highly expressed in leaves, whereas 27 CoAQPs showed differential expression in developing seeds. Drought stress induced significant physiological and biochemical responses in leaves and fruits of C. oleifera. Transcriptome data and real-time quantitative PCR analyses indicated CoAQPs extensively participated in drought response. This study will lay a theoretical foundation for exploring water metabolism mechanisms and screening gene resources for stress tolerance and quality improvement in C. oleifera.

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) bipolar plates face a critical trade-off between corrosion resistance and interfacial electrical conductivity. To address this, Nb/NbN multilayer coatings with systematically varied interface densities were deposited on TA1 substrates via magnetron sputtering. Increasing the multilayer level induces a transition from substrate-influenced to interface-controlled growth, triggering a crystallographic phase transformation from metastable hexagonal ε-NbN to stable cubic δ-NbN. Finite element analysis and physical characterizations confirm this transformation drives microstructural densification and a pronounced increase in compressive residual stress, accompanied by pronounced transformation-associated residual-stress evolution and microstructural densification. Consequently, transformation-induced densification significantly enhances corrosion resistance in simulated PEMWE anodic environments, while electrical properties remain moderate alongside stress accumulation. Notably, the Nb/NbN-3 coating architecture achieves an optimal balance, exhibiting low interfacial contact resistance (∼6.18 mΩ·cm2 at 1.5 MPa) and high corrosion stability (0.195 µA·cm- 2 in potentiostatic polarization). Ultimately, these results establish interface-density engineering as a highly effective strategy for optimizing the performance of bipolar plates in advanced PEMWE systems.

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are important regulators of plant growth, stress responses, and secondary metabolism; however, their roles in endophyte-mediated dendrobine biosynthesis remain largely unknown in Dendrobium nobile. Here, we identified 63 DnWRKY genes in the D. nobile genome and systematically investigated their potential involvement in endophyte-mediated dendrobine accumulation. Phylogenetic analysis revealed high conservation of DnWRKY proteins within subfamilies. Endophytic fungal co-culture significantly promoted dendrobine accumulation, reaching 0.39 mg g-1 at 14 days, which was 2.6-fold higher than that of the control. Transcriptome and qRT-PCR analyses showed that several DnWRKY genes responded to fungal treatment and exhibited expression patterns consistent with dendrobine accumulation. Among them, DnWRKY18 and DnWRKY4 were significantly positively correlated with key enzyme genes involved in dendrobine biosynthesis, including HMGS, TPS1, and TPS2. Promoter analysis further identified typical W-box elements in these target genes, supporting the possibility of WRKY-mediated transcriptional regulation. These results provide the first evidence linking WRKY TFs to endophyte-induced dendrobine biosynthesis in D. nobile and suggest that DnWRKY18 and DnWRKY4 may serve as candidate positive regulators in this process, establishing a putative regulatory framework for further functional verification of WRKY-mediated dendrobine biosynthesis.

Earthworms are a commonly used animal-derived traditional Chinese medicine in China， with proteins and polypeptides as their main active ingredients. However， the existing methods for separating and detecting earthworm polypeptides have problems such as insufficient preparation capacity and poor separation reproducibility. To address these challenges， this study used the iron porphyrin metal-organic framework material PCN-222（Fe） to specifically adsorb the earthworm polypeptide component L-PeakⅡ， with an adsorption capacity of 139 mg/g. First of all， PCN-222（Fe） material was successfully prepared via the one-pot method. The earthworm protease hydrolysate was obtained through alkali extraction and acid precipitation， and trypsin enzymatic hydrolysis. Then， PCN-222（Fe） was further used as a solid-phase adsorbent and combined with liquid chromatography to rapidly separate and prepare the polypeptide component L-PeakⅡ from complex earthworm enzymatic hydrolysate of the Chinese medicine. Qualitative analysis was performed by HPLC， and quantitative analysis was conducted with a BCA assay kit. HPLC analysis of the earthworm protease hydrolysate revealed multiple chromatographic peaks. After enrichment with PCN‑222（Fe） and subsequent elution， the eluted sample exhibited fewer peaks， with a well‑defined peak appearing at a retention time of approximately 15 min. In order to obtain the optimal experimental conditions for the enrichment of earthworm polypeptides， influencing factors including enzyme hydrolysate mass concentration， pH value， elution solvent type， and elution time were investigated and optimized. The results showed that optimal enrichment was achieved by incubating at an enzymatic hydrolysate mass concentration of 3.0 mg/mL and pH of 9， followed by elution with 50% acetonitrile containing 0.2% trifluoroacetic acid for 2 h. Finally， the earthworm-derived polypeptide component was obtained using a high-pressure preparative chromatographic system， achieving a purity exceeding 95%. The integrated approach employed in this study， which combines PCN-222（Fe） material with preparative chromatography， enables the efficient preparation of the target polypeptide L-PeakⅡ from medicinal earthworm samples. This strategy provides a valuable reference for the separation and purification of polypeptide components from complex animal-derived traditional Chinese medicines. Moreover， it offers a more robust， scalable， and reproducible pathway for harnessing the therapeutic potential of natural product peptides， thereby bridging the gap between traditional medicine and modern pharmaceutical analysis.

We introduce a cocrystallization-based strategy to impart mechanical compliance to otherwise brittle organic semiconductor (OSC) crystals. While 9,10-bis((E)-2-(pyridin-3-yl)vinyl)anthracene (BP3VA) forms brittle crystals as a pure component, it becomes elastic upon cocrystallization with a series of trihalophenols (3X-ph-OH, X = Br, Cl, I). The structural buffering elements of the trihalophenols, comprising π-stacked architectures stabilized by dispersive [X⋯X] and [C-H⋯X] contacts, are effectively transferred from their single-component crystal structures into BP3VA cocrystals via "large synthons". The structural buffer transfer results in mechanically interlocked supramolecular architectures that exhibit elasticity while preserving intrinsic phololuminescence of the parent OSC. We envisage cocrystallization as an effective platform for designing elastic functional materials based on OSCs.

Strategic critical metals， such as rare earths and dispersed metals， are indispensable key raw materials for high-tech industries， including new energy and electronics. Although China is rich in mineral resources （especially rare earth minerals）， the supply has always been a concern due to extremely uneven distribution and the significant environmental pressures caused by the mining process. At the same time， with the rapid development of related industries， the amount of waste equipment containing these metals （such as discarded batteries and used NdFeB magnets） and industrial wastewater has increased sharply. Therefore， efficiently recovering strategic critical metals from secondary resources is of great importance. Among various recovery processes， solvent extraction and precipitation methods have been widely applied in systems with conventional concentrations and relatively simple components due to their mature technology and relatively high separation efficiency. However， these methods face challenges such as low efficiency， poor selectivity， and high environmental burden when treating low-concentration， multi-component systems. Adsorption methods， with their simple operation， low energy consumption， and environmentally friendly characteristics， have become one of the most promising methods for recovering and processing strategic critical metals in extreme industrial systems. By designing or selecting specific adsorbent materials （such as ion-imprinted polymers， functionalized porous materials）， specific adsorption of target metal ions can be achieved， especially enabling efficient separation of desired metals in complex multi-metal solutions. However， this method demands higher requirements for the performance and stability of the adsorbents. Therefore， developing novel adsorbent materials with high selectivity， high adsorption capacity， and environmental friendliness has become a key bottleneck that urgently needs to be overcome in this field. Covalent organic frameworks （COFs） are a fascinating class of crystalline porous organic materials constructed via strong covalent bonds from light elements including carbon， hydrogen， nitrogen， oxygen， and boron. COFs integrate multiple superior properties. They not only possess ultra-high specific surface areas and tunable pore sizes but also exhibit excellent structural designability. Their pore sizes can be adjusted from the nanometer scale to the angstrom level， allowing for the sieving of ions of different sizes through size exclusion effects. Moreover， the organic monomers of COFs contain abundant functional groups， enabling selective recovery based on differences in affinity for metal ions. At the same time， their fully organic frameworks endow numerous COFs with excellent stability in harsh environments such as acids and bases. Thanks to these unique characteristics， COFs have emerged as promising candidates for the highly selective and high-capacity recovery of critical metals in low-concentration， multi-component systems.This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the application of COFs for the recovery of rare earth and dispersed metals， with a focus on the introduction of specific functional groups through direct synthesis and post-modification strategies to achieve efficient recognition and capture of target metal ions. The performance of COFs in terms of adsorption capacity， selectivity， and cycling stability is outlined， and their adsorption mechanisms， as well as desorption and regeneration methods， are discussed. Finally， challenges in structural design， scalable synthesis， and environmental adaptability for practical applications are analyzed， and future research directions are proposed. This review aims to provide a reference for researchers in this field and to promote further development of COF materials in resource recovery applications.

Antibiotic resistance caused by metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs) is a global public health threat. In this work, we first directly investigated the binding of Zn2+ to apo-MβLs through isothermal titration calorimetry. It was found that carbapenem and cephamycin resistance metallo-β-lactamase (CcrA), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Metallo-β-lactamase-1(L1) bind Zn2+ in a sequential mode, while imipenemase-1 (IMP-1) and Verona Integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase-2 (VIM-2) bind Zn2+ in a mode of varying levels of cooperativity, in which the mononuclear species was not detectable, and also, the mode was verified through the titration of Co2+ into apo-VIM-2 monitored by UV-vis. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters revealed the binding of Zn2+ to the active sites was independent of stoichiometry. Analysis of the parameters determined suggested that the binding of B1 and B3 MβLs to Zn2+ depends on the binding affinity and/or Gibbs free energy change of Zn1 and Zn2 sites of the enzymes, and two metal sites have almost equal contributions for full activity of the MβLs. The information gained in this work is helpful for the further mechanism studies and the development of the broad-spectrum MβL inhibitors.