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The FKBP (FK506-binding protein) gene family is an important member of the PPlase protease family and plays a vital role during the processes of plant growth and development. However, no studies of the FKBP gene family have been reported in cucumber. In this study, 19 FKBP genes were identified in cucumber, which were located on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Phylogenetic analysis divided the cucumber FKBP genes into three subgroups. The FKBP genes in the same subgroup exhibited similar structures and conserved motifs. The cis-acting elements analysis revealed that the promoters of cucumber FKBP genes contained hormone-, stress-, and development-related cis-acting elements. Synteny analysis of the FKBP genes among cucumber, Arabidopsis, and rice showed that 12 kinds of syntenic relationships were detected between cucumber and Arabidopsis FKBP genes, and 3 kinds of syntenic relationships were observed between cucumber and rice FKBP genes. The tissue-specific expression analysis showed that some FKBP genes were expressed in all tissues, while others were only highly expressed in part of the 10 types of tissues. The expression profile analysis of cucumber FKBP genes under 13 types of stresses showed that the CsaV3_1G007080 gene was differentially expressed under abiotic stresses (high temperature, NaCl, silicon, and photoperiod) and biotic stresses (downy mildew, green mottle mosaic virus, Fusarium wilt, phytophthora capsica, angular leaf spot, and root-knot nematode), which indicated that the CsaV3_1G007080 gene plays an important role in the growth and development of cucumber. The interaction protein analysis showed that most of the proteins in the FKBP gene family interacted with each other. The results of this study will lay the foundation for further research on the molecular biological functions of the cucumber FKBP gene family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we reported a simple method to fabricate nanoporous PdCe (NP-PdCe) nanocubes with high activity and good stability by melt spinning combined with chemical dealloying. The microstructure results show that the prepared NP-PdCe alloy consists of nanocubes with an average size of 200 nm, exhibiting a three-dimensional nanoporous structure with a pore size of around 5 nm. Owing to the combined effect of bimetallic synergistic action and the nanoporous structure, the NP-PdCe catalyst exhibits much higher electrocatalytic activity and durability towards ethanol electro-oxidation and the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution, relative to nanoporous Pd and commercial Pd/C catalysts. With the advantages of scalable preparation and enhanced catalytic performance, the NP-PdCe nanocubes hold great potential for application as a promising catalyst in direct ethanol fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key step in the fabrication of highly active electrochemical sensors is seeking multifunctional nanocomposites as electrode modified materials. In this study, the gold nanoparticle-decorated helical carbon nanotube nanocomposites (AuNPs-HCNTs) were fabricated for rutin detection because of its superior sensitivity, the chemical stability of AuNPs, and the superior conductivity and unique 3D-helical structure of helical carbon nanotubes. Results showed the prepared nanocomposites exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity towards rutin due to the synergetic effects of AuNPs and HCNTs. Under the optimized conditions, the developed sensor exhibited a linear response range from 0.1 to 31 μmol/L for rutin with a low detectable limit of 81 nmol/L. The proposed method might offer a possibility for electrochemical analysis of rutin in Chinese medical analysis or serum monitoring owing to its low cost, simplicity, high sensitivity, good stability, and few interferences against common coexisting ions in real samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Pt-Y alloy has displayed an excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and is regarded as a promising cathode catalyst for fuel cells. However, the bulk production of nanoscaled Pt-Y alloy with outstanding catalytic performance remains a great challenge. Here, we address the challenge through a simple dealloying method to synthesize nanoporous Pt-Y alloy (NP-PtY) with a typical ligament size of ~5 nm. By combining the intrinsic superior electrocatalytic activity of Pt-Y alloy with the special nanoporous structure, the NP-PtY bimetallic catalyst presents higher activity for ORR and ethanol oxidation reaction, and better electrocatalytic stability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst and nanoporous Pt alloy. The as-made NP-PtY holds great application potential as a promising electrocatalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells due to the advantages of facile preparation and excellent catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a new type of exchange bias (EB) after zero-field cooling has attracted considerable interest mainly in bulk magnetic competing systems. Here, we use a detailed magnetotransport investigation to probe the ground state and zero-field cooled EB (ZEB) in Mn 50 Ni 41 Sn 9 ribbon. Both ZEB and field cooled EB were detected in magnetoresistance results consistent with magnetic measurement. A pure spin-glass ground state is proposed based on parabolic shape of low-field magnetoresistance combined with AC magnetization, memory effect. The appearance of ZEB is attributed to the field-induced nucleation and growth of ferromagnetic domains in the spin glass matrix forming unidirectional anisotropy at the interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combined sol-gel/hydrogen reduction method has been developed for the mass production of helical carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) by the pyrolysis of acetylene at 425 degrees C in the presence of NiO nanoparticles. The synthesized HCNFs were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The helical-structured carbon nanofibers have a large specific surface area and excellent biocompatibility. A novel enzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensor was then successfully fabricated based on the nanocomposites containing HCNFs and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The results indicated that the Au/HCNFs nanocomposites exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity to the reduction of H2O2, offering a wide linear range from 1.0 μM to 3157 μM with a detection limit as low as 0.46 μM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of the biosensor was 0.61 mM. The as-fabricated biosensor showed a rapid and sensitive amperometric response to hydrogen peroxide with acceptable preparation reproducibility and excellent stability. Because of their low cost and high stability, these novel HCNFs represent seem to be a kind of promising biomaterial and may find wide new applications in scopes such as biocatalysis, immunoassay, environmental monitoring and so on.