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An experiment was carried out to obtain data on critical heat flux (CHF) in vertical internally heated annuli cooled with Refrigerant (R-134a) at high-pressure subcooled and low-quality conditions (outlet pressure:1.78–2.72 MPa, mass flux: 587–2135kg/m2s, critical quality: −0.64–0.12). The test section has two forms, concentric, eccentric (ε = 0.435, 0.783). At inlet conditions, parametric trends of the CHF data in concentric annuli have been shown consistent with those obtained in experiments in tubes. At local conditions, the reversed trend of CHF with increasing mass flux occurs a lower critical quality. The effect of eccentricity on CHF depends mainly on local flow conditions. At high subcooled conditions, eccentricity causes punishment to CHF and CHF decreases with the increase of eccentricity. The eccentricity effect appears to be diminished at low subcooled conditions. An interesting phenomenon occurs in high pressure and high flow (HPHF) conditions, where CHF with eccentricity of 0.783 is higher than CHF with eccentricity of 0.435. This is because the larger cross flow causes bubbles to be more easily leave away from the narrow gap in annuli with high void migration. The effect of eccentricity on CHF was studied from the mechanism of two different types of CHF (DNB and Dryout) in vertical eccentric internally heated annuli.

Autophagy is critical for plant defense against necrotrophic pathogens, which causes serious yield loss on crops. However, the post-translational regulatory mechanisms of autophagy pathway in plant resistance against necrotrophs remain poorly understood. In this study, we report that phosphorylation modification on ATG18a, a key regulator of autophagosome formation in Arabidopsis thaliana, constitutes a post-translation regulation of autophagy, which attenuates plant resistance against necrotrophic pathogens. We found that phosphorylation of ATG18a suppresses autophagosome formation and its subsequent delivery into the vacuole, which results in reduced autophagy activity and compromised plant resistance against Botrytis cinerea. In contrast, overexpression of ATG18a dephosphorylation-mimic form increases the accumulation of autophagosomes and complements the plant resistance of atg18a mutant against B. cinerea. Moreover, BAK1, a key regulator in plant resistance, was identified to physically interact with and phosphorylate ATG18a. Mutation of BAK1 blocks ATG18a phosphorylation at four of the five detected phosphorylation sites after B. cinerea infection and strongly activates autophagy, leading to enhanced resistance against B. cinerea. Collectively, the identification of functional phosphorylation sites on ATG18a and the corresponding kinase BAK1 unveiled how plant regulates autophagy during resistance against necrotrophic pathogens. Abbreviations: 35s: the cauliflower mosaic virus 35s promoter; A. thaliana: Arabidopsis thaliana; A. brassicicola: Alternaria brassicicola; ABA: abscisic acid; ATG: autophagy-related; ATG18a: autophagy-related protein 18a in A. thaliana; ATG8a: autophagy-related protein 8a in A. thaliana; ATG8–PE: ATG8 conjugated with PE; B. cinerea: Botrytis cinerea; BAK1: Brassinosteroid insensitive 1-associated receptor kinase1 in A. thaliana; BiFC: biomolecular fluorescence complementation; BIK1: Botrytis-insensitive kinase 1 in A. thaliana; BKK1: BAK1-like 1 in A. thaliana; BR: brassinosteroid; Co-IP: coimmunoprecipitation; dai: days after inoculation; DAMPs: damage-associated molecular patterns; E. coli: Escherochia coli; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; ETI: effector-triggered immunity; GFP: green fluorescent protein; HA: hemagglutinin; IP: immunoprecipitation; LC-MS/MS: liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; LCI: luciferase complementation imaging; MPK3: mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 in A. thaliana; MPK4: mitogen-activated protein kinase 4 in A. thaliana; MPK6: mitogen-activated protein kinase 6 in A. thaliana; N. benthamiana: Nicotiana benthamiana; NES: nuclear export sequence; PAMP: pathogen-associated molecular pattern; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; PRR: pattern recognition receptor; PtdIns(3,5)P(2:) phosphatidylinositol (3,5)-biphosphate; PtdIns3P: phosphatidylinositol 3-biphosphate; PTI: PAMP-triggered immunity; qRT-PCR: quantitative reverse transcription PCR; SnRK2.6: SNF1-related protein kinase 2.6 in A. thaliana; TORC1: the rapamycin-sensitive Tor complex1; TRAF: tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor; WT: wild type plant; Yc: C-terminal fragment of YFP; YFP: yellow fluorescent protein; Yn: N-terminal fragment of YFP

Purpose To investigate causative variants in three Chinese families affected with familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR). Methods Three unrelated Chinese families were recruited in this study. The three probands and their family members experienced a comprehensive age-appropriate eye examination and genetic analysis. Luciferase assay was performed to evaluate impacts of variants on Norrin/β-catenin signaling activity. Results Here we report two novel NDP variants associated with FEVR in three families, including c.17T>C (p.Leu6Pro) in family 1 and c.58G>A (p.Gly20Arg) in family 2 and 3. These two variants were co-segregated with the disease phenotypes within each family. In addition, both variants resulted in compromised Norrin/β-catenin signaling activity. Conclusion Our study identified two FEVR-associated pathogenic variants in NDP, which expanded the variant spectrum and provided information for the genetic diagnosis of FEVR.

Chlorophytum comosum belongs to genus Chlorophytum of family Asparagaceae that has more than 215 species. it is among 120 plant species assayed for phytoremediation of pollutants from indoor air. It has the ability to remove formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, carbon oxide, ozone, benzene, toluene, cigarette smoke and ammonia. It also is an important Chinese tradition medicine material. Aim to get more information about its mitochondrial genome, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of C. comosum. The length of mitochondrial genome was 950316 bp with 36 protein coding genes, 5 rRNAs and 21 tRNAs. Although it has the biggest mitochondrial genome, the total PCGs content were the second least. C. comosum had the most repeats sequence and it may effect the size of mitochondrial genome, but base the result we found that the quantity of repeats sequence could not have the positive correlation with the mitochondrial size. Compared with other 9 species , we found in the mitochondrial genome of C. comosum, there were at least one PCGs suffered from the positive selection after divergence. Finally, the result of phylogenetic showed that C. comosum did not have colesd relationship with other species.

Cochliobolus heterostrophus is the causal agent of southern corn leaf blight, a destructive disease on maize worldwide. However, how it regulates virulence on maize is still largely unknown. Here, we report that two copper transporter genes, ChCTR1 and ChCTR4, are required for its virulence. chctr1 and chctr4 mutants showed attenuated virulence on maize compared with the wild-type strain TM17 but development phenotypes of those mutants on media with or without infection-related stress agents were the same as the wild-type strain. Moreover, ChCTR1 and ChCTR4 play critical roles in appressorium formation and mutation of ChCTR1 or ChCTR4 suppresses the appressorium formation. Furthermore, copper-chelating agent ammonium tetrathiomolybdate suppressed the appressorium formation and virulence of C. heterostrophus on maize, whereas copper ions enhanced the appressorium formation and virulence on maize. The results indicate that copper ions are required for appressorium formation and virulence of C. heterostrophus on maize and are acquired from the environment by two copper transporters: ChCTR1 and ChCTR4.

The shale of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation is an important gas-producing layer for shale gas development in southern China. This set of shale reservoir characteristics and shale gas development potential provide an important foundation for shale gas development. This study takes wellblock XN111 in the Sichuan Basin, China, as an example and uses X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), isothermal adsorption, and other techniques to analyze the shale reservoir characteristics of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation. The results show that the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation was deposited in a deep-water shelf environment. During this period, carbonaceous shale and siliceous shale characterized by a high brittle mineral content ( quartz > 40 wt . % , carbonate mineral > 10 wt . % ) and a low clay mineral content (

A label-free aptasensor was developed for ultrasensitive detection of Pb2+ based on electrochemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) from graphitic carbon nitride nanofibers (CNNFs) to Ru(phen)32+. The CNNFs synthesized via a facile two-step hydrolysis-electrolysis strategy showed intense and stable ECL signal by taking advantages of amplifying and stabilizing effect of carbon nanotubes and Au nanoparticles. After the specific hybridation between capture DNA and Pb2+ specific aptamer, Ru(phen)32+ could be captured onto CNNFs modified electrode by effectively intercalating into the grooves of double-strand DNA, thus triggering the ECL-RET and leading to highly enhanced ECL intensity. The presence of Pb2+ would result in the detachment of Ru(phen)32+ and then the inhibition of ECL-RET. Then Pb2+ concentration could be quantified based on ECL change before and after introduction of Pb2+. The target recycling based on exonuclease I (Exo I) mediated digestion of Pb2+-aptamer complex was implemented to further improve the sensitivity. These synergistic amplification strategies enabled the aptasensor to be ultrasensitive for Pb2+ determination with a detection limit of 0.04 pM. The proposed probe was utilized to analyze environmental samples with satisfactory results.

Here, we present a mapping tool based on individual light-driven nano-oscillators for label-free single-molecule monitoring of microRNA. This design uses microRNA as a single-molecule damper for nano-oscillators by forming a rigid dual-strand structure in the gap between nano-oscillators and the immobilized surface. The ultrasensitive detection is attributed to comparable dimensions of the gap and microRNA. A developed surface plasmon-coupled scattering imaging technology enables us to directly measure the real-time gap distance vibration of multiple nano-oscillators with high accuracy and fast dynamics. High-level and low-level states of the oscillation amplitude indicate melting and hybridization statuses of microRNA. Lifetimes of two states reveal that the hybridization rate of microRNA is determined by the three-dimensional diffusion. This imaging technique contributes application potentials in a single-molecule detection and nanomechanics study.

A feasible label-free electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor that uses an Au-nanoparticle-functionalized g-C3N4 nanohybrid (Au-g-C3N4 NH) as the luminophore was constructed for highly sensitive acetylcholinesterase (AChE) detection. The sensor was fabricated by successively modifying a glassy carbon electrode with Au-g-C3N4 NH and thiol-modified AChE-specific aptamers. In the presence of AChE, the ECL signal decreased significantly, because AChE could hydrolyze the substrate acetylthiocholine to generate acetic acid, which could react with the co-reactant triethylamine (Et3N), leading to evident consumption of the co-reactant. The ECL response of the aptasensor was linearly proportional to the concentration of AChE ranging from 0.1 pg/mL to 10 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 42.3 fg/mL (S/N=3). This novel ECL sensing strategy demonstrated a highly sensitive and selective method for AChE detection and was expected to possess potential applications in clinical diagnosis and biomedical technology.

A high-amylose starch was prepared from ginkgo by hydrolysis using isoamylase and its structures (morphology and crystallinity) and physicochemical properties (swelling factor, water solubility and gelatinization) were determined. The experiments used response surface methodology to determine the optimum parameters for enzymatic hydrolysis: pH 5.0 at 52 °C for 170 min, using an enzyme dose greater than 100 IU/ml. The experimentally observed maximum yield of ginkgo amylose under these conditions was 74.74% and the blue value was 0.756. The high-amylose ginkgo starch showed an irregular surface and porous inner structure while the native starch granules were oval with a smooth surface. X-ray showed that the high-amylose starch displayed a V-type structure. Because of its high amylose content and different structural characteristics, high-amylose starch exhibited a higher gelatinization peak temperature (109.25 °C) and water solubility, and a lower crystallinity (19.13%), gelatinization enthalpy (63.83 J/g), and swelling power. The present study has indicated that high-amylose starch prepared using isoamylase has unique functional properties, which lays the foundation for the wider application of ginkgo starch.

A label-free aptasensor was developed for ultrasensitive detection of Pb

Ginkgo biloba seed starch was isolated and its morphological, compositional, physicochemical, and structural characteristics, and in-vitro enzymatic hydrolysis, were investigated. Ginkgo starch granules were oval or spherical (5–20 μm) with a smooth surface. Compared with normal maize and potato starches, ginkgo starch had a significantly higher amylose content of 33.26%, a C A -type crystal pattern and a significantly higher crystallinity degree (40.2%). Because of its different chemical composition and structural characteristics, ginkgo starch exhibited a higher pasting temperature (80.95 °C), setback viscosity (1463 cP), gelatinization temperature (69.23 °C), lower swelling factor and gelatinization enthalpy (4.34 J/g). Moreover, ginkgo starch showed the lowest hydrolysis degree of the three starches in vitro , indicating its higher resistance to α-amylase digestibility in the case of retrogradation. The present study demonstrated that ginkgo starch is a robust and potentially useful nutritional source of enzyme-resistant starch, and provides useful information for food industries using ginkgo seeds.