Search

The Ideal Plant Architecture 1 (IPA1) transcription factor promotes rice yield and immunity through phosphorylation at its amino acid residue Ser163 as a switch. Although phosphorylated IPA1 mimic, IPA1(S163D), directly targets the promoter of immune response gene WRKY45, it cannot activate its expression. Here, we identified a co-activator of IPA1(S163D), a RING-finger E3 ligase IPA1 interactor 7 (IPI7), which fine-tunes the transcriptional activity of IPA1 to timely promote plant immunity and simultaneously maintain growth for yield. IPI7 interacts with IPA1 and promotes K29-polyubiquitination of IPA1 in vitro and in vivo. However, the stability of IPA1 protein is not affected by IPI7-mediated ubiquitination. The IPI7-promoted K29-polyubiquitination of IPA1 is induced by Magnaporthe oryzae infection and required for phosphorylated IPA1 to transactivate WRKY45 expression for immune response but not for plain IPA1 to transactivate DENSE AND ERECT PANICLES 1 (DEP1) expression for panicle development. IPI7 knockout impairs IPA1-mediated immunity but not yield. Our study reveals that plants utilize non-proteolytic K29-ubiquitination as a response to pathogen infection to fine-tune IPA1 transactivation activity for promoting immunity.In this paper, the E3 ubiquitin ligase IPI7 is found to fine-tune the transactivation activity of IPA1 through non-hydrolyzed K29-ubiquitination chain, thereby timely regulating rice disease resistance during Magnaporthe oryzae infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing porous self-supporting electrodes with excellent conductivity, good mechanical properties, and high electrochemical activity is crucial for constructing electrode materials with lightweight, ultra-thin, flexible, and high capacitance performance. In this work, we prepared a cellulose nanofibers (CNFs)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/vinasse activated carbon (VAC) (CCV) composite material with a multi-layer hierarchical conductive structure through simple vacuum filtration and freeze-drying. In this composite material, the self-assembly of CNF provides the main skeleton structure of a multi-layer hierarchical structure. CNT provides a fast path for the rapid transfer of electrons and is beneficial for the loss of electromagnetic waves. VAC provides sufficient double layer performance. The synergistic effect of the above three endows CCV composite materials with excellent energy storage performance and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance. In addition, we endowed the CCV composite with a certain shape and performance by introducing a vitrimer polymer with a dynamic cross-linked network structure. In summary, thanks to the synergistic effect of various components in the multi-layer hierarchical structure, CCV composite materials exhibit excellent integration performance, especially stable energy storage performance and EMI shielding performance. These significant properties make CCV composite materials have great application prospects in the fields of energy storage and intelligent EMI shielding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delamination of dense mafic/ultramafic materials in arc roots has long been considered as the fundamental step in the paradigm of making an andesitic continental crust. However, the complexity in identifying ancient arc roots inherently with repeated modifications, poses a challenge in accurately determining the preservation time of the dense crustal materials and thus the delamination-driven model. Here, we conducted comprehensive petrographic, whole-rock, and mineral geochemical studies on 10 variably retrograded eclogite xenoliths from the ~ 35 Ma crustal-derived felsic porphyry in the Liuhe area, western Yangtze craton. Eclogite facies metamorphism is indicated by the fresh relic consisting of coarse-grained garnet, omphacite and rutile; the retrograde metamorphism is manifested by an additional assemblage of fine-grained diopside, amphibole, plagioclase, and biotite. Whole-rock element contents of the xenoliths generally display correlations with immobile Nb concentrations, suggestive of a dominant control from magmatic processes with negligible effects from the post-magmatic alteration. The protoliths of studied xenoliths are most likely accumulated garnet pyroxenites, where the negative correlation between heavy rare earth elements and Mg# (Mg/(Mg + Fe), atomic ratio), and the absence of positive Eu and Sr anomalies suggest the accumulation of garnet under high-pressure conditions. The parental magmas are inferred to be evolved and hydrous with arc-type trace-element patterns. Combined with studies on regional xenoliths, outcrops and tectonic history, the parental magmas likely record the melting of asthenospheric mantle wedge fluxed by recycled subducted slab in the Neoproterozoic (~ 800 Ma). The prolonged preservation (from ~ 800 Ma to at least 35 Ma) of the accumulated garnet pyroxenites with high densities in the deep continental crust can be ascribed to the support from the underlying refractory lithospheric mantle strengthened by plume head accretions. Therefore, we propose that the density-driven delamination of the arc root materials is more sluggish than previously expected and the longevity of dense crustal materials highlights the caution in understanding the role of arc root delamination in making an andesitic continental crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the transport mechanisms within unsaturated porous media is essential to the durability problems associated with cement-based materials. However, the involvement of multi-ions electrochemical coupling effect, especially under unsaturated condition makes the transport mechanisms even more complex. In this study, the moisture and multi-ionic transport in unsaturated concrete have been modeled in three-dimensional cases. The contribution from both water vapor and liquid has been considered in moisture transport. By adopting the constitutive electrochemical law, the electrostatic potential induced by inherent charge imbalance was calculated. With parameter calibration, the numerical results agreed well with the experimental data, proving the validity of the presented model. Results from a parametric analysis showed that neglecting multi-ions coupling effect will lead to an underestimated chloride concentration, and saturated degree has an obvious impact on the coupling strength among different ions. In addition, the existence of coarse aggregates will not only block mass transport but also make the discrepancies between two-dimensional model and three-dimensional model results more obvious. Other findings which have not been reported in existing studies are also highlighted. Article Highlights: The coupled moisture and multi-ionic transport process has been modeled in three dimensions for the first time. The anomalous moisture transport has been considered by time-dependent water permeability. The higher saturation degree has been found to amplify the multi-ions coupling intensity in porous media. The model heterogeneity and dimension should be properly considered to obtain more accurate numerical result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a cascaded piecewise unsaturated asymmetric under-damped tri-stable stochastic resonance (CPUAUTSR) system is proposed to improve the detection capability of the classical tri-stable system and addresses the output saturation problem. Firstly, it demonstrates the good unsaturated characteristics of the piecewise unsaturated asymmetric under-damped tri-stable stochastic resonance (PUAUTSR) system. Then, the steady-state probability density (SPD), mean first passage time (MFPT) of PUAUTSR system are derived, respectively. Based on the adiabatic approximation theory, the spectral amplification (SA) coefficient of CPUAUTSR system is derived for the first time. The effects of different system parameters on the performance indexes are also investigated. The parameters are optimized using the adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) and used to measure the stochastic resonance performance using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Finally, the piecewise unsaturated asymmetric over-damped tri-stable stochastic resonance (PUAOTSR) and CPUAUTSR system are applied to diagnose the fault signal of bearing. The results show that CPUAUTSR system provides better enhancement and detection of bearing fault signals. In particular, in the detection of bearing inner and outer ring faults, the SNR of the second stage CPUAUTSR system is higher than that of PUAOTSR and first stage CPUAUTSR systems by 8.107 dB, 2.733 dB, 1.879 dB, and 0.185 dB, respectively. These findings provide valuable theoretical support and application prospects for practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal pathogens typically use secreted effector proteins to suppress host immune activators to facilitate invasion. However, there is rarely evidence supporting the idea that fungal secretory proteins contribute to pathogenesis by transactivating host genes that suppress defense. We previously found that pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae induces rice Bsr-d1 to facilitate infection and hypothesized that a fungal effector mediates this induction. Here, we report that MoSPAB1 secreted by M. oryzae directly binds to the Bsr-d1 promoter to induce its expression, facilitating pathogenesis. Amino acids 103-123 of MoSPAB1 are required for its binding to the Bsr-d1 promoter. Both MoSPAB1 and rice MYBS1 compete for binding to the Bsr-d1 promoter to regulate Bsr-d1 expression. Furthermore, MoSPAB1 homologues are highly conserved among fungi. In particular, Colletotrichum fructicola CfSPAB1 and Colletotrichum sublineola CsSPAB1 activate kiwifruit AcBsr-d1 and sorghum SbBsr-d1 respectively, to facilitate pathogenesis. Taken together, our findings reveal a conserved module that may be widely utilized by fungi to enhance pathogenesis. Magnaporthe oryzae effector MoSPAB1 enters rice nuclei to bind to the promoter of the immunity-brake gene Bsr-d1 and activates its expression by competing with rice MYBS1, which constitute a conserved module that facilitates fungal pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TRMT1 is an N2-methylguanosine (m2G) and N2,N2-methylguanosine (m22G) methyltransferase that targets G26 of both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial tRNAs. In higher eukaryotes, most cytoplasmic tRNAs with G26 carry m22G26, although the majority of mitochondrial G26-containing tRNAs carry m2G26 or G26, suggesting differences in the mechanisms by which TRMT1 catalyzes modification of these tRNAs. Loss-of-function mutations of human TRMT1 result in neurological disorders and completely abrogate tRNA:m22G26 formation. However, the mechanism underlying the independent catalytic activity of human TRMT1 and identity of its specific substrate remain elusive, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of neurological disorders caused by TRMT1 mutations. Here, we showed that human TRMT1 independently catalyzes formation of the tRNA:m2G26 or m22G26 modification in a substrate-dependent manner, which explains the distinct distribution of m2G26 and m22G26 on cytoplasmic and mitochondrial tRNAs. For human TRMT1-mediated tRNA:m22G26 formation, the semi-conserved C11:G24 serves as the determinant, and the U10:A25 or G10:C25 base pair is also required, while the size of the variable loop has no effect. We defined the requirements of this recognition mechanism as the "m22G26 criteria". We found that the m22G26 modification occurred in almost all the higher eukaryotic tRNAs conforming to these criteria, suggesting the "m22G26 criteria" are applicable to other higher eukaryotic tRNAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior studies have investigated the association between stressful life events and adolescents' problematic Internet use, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The self-worth orientation theory assumes that self-worth is the ultimate motivation of human behavior, and it derives from a self-worth supporting system, including trust or support from significant others and personal achievement, among others. Therefore, stressful life events might predict adolescents' problematic Internet use by undermining their self-worth. However, physical activity might moderate the effect of stressful life events on self-worth. To examine these hypotheses, 2058 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.03 years, SD = 0.83 years) were recruited to complete a series of questionnaires. The results showed that self-worth partially mediated the relationship between stressful life events and problematic Internet use, and physical activity moderated the association between stressful life events and self-worth. In addition, the negative relationship between stressful life events and self-worth was stronger for adolescents with higher levels of physical activity, in line with the reverse risk-buffering model. Further multigroup analysis showed that the current theoretical model was robust in both male and female groups. This study has certain theoretical and practical significance for the prevention of adolescents' problematic Internet use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant disease is a threat to global food security. Breeding crops carrying broad-spectrum resistance loci is an effective way to control infectious disease. Disease-resistant mutants are valuable resources for deciphering the underlying mechanisms of plant immunity and could provide genetic loci to generate disease-resistant crops. Here, we identified a rice mutant, rbr7 (rice blast resistance 7), that confers resistance against different strains of Magnaporthe oryzae. Disease-mimicking necrotic lesions started to appear on the leaves of rbr7 four weeks after sowing. Histochemical analysis revealed reactive oxygen species accumulation and cell death accompanied by spontaneous lesion formation in rbr7. Map-based cloning and bulk segregation analysis showed a 2855 bp fragment deletion on chromosome 5, leading to the disruption of the LOC_Os05g28480-coding protein. Transgenic rbr7 complementation plants showed compromised resistance to rice blast, indicating that LOC_Os05g28480, or Rbr7, regulates the rice immune response. Rbr7 encodes a small protein of unknown function with 85 amino acids. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that disruption of RBR7 led to the upregulation of genes responding to salicylic acid, systemic acquired resistance and pathogenesis-related genes. Taken together, our findings reveal insights into a novel small protein involved in regulating plant resistance to rice blast and provide a potential target for crop breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key to damage detection is whether fault features can be extracted effectively from raw signals. Hence, we propose an approach based on the refined time-shift multiscale dispersion Lempel-Ziv complexity (RTSMDLZC) to effectively extract fault features. First, the time-shift multiscale sequence constructed from the raw time series can obtain more fault information more effectively. Then, the refined method addresses the lacking of sizeable numerical fluctuation on a large scale and enhances the algorithm's stability. Simulation signals and two experimental cases verify the effectiveness and applicability of the RTSMDLZC. The results indicate that compared with other classic methods, the RTSMDLZC can extract bearing fault features more accurately and has better identification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene plays essential roles in rice growth, development and stress adaptation. Translational control of ethylene signaling remains unclear in rice. Here, through analysis of an ethylene-response mutant mhz9, we identified a glycine-tyrosine-phenylalanine (GYF) domain protein MHZ9, which positively regulates ethylene signaling at translational level in rice. MHZ9 is localized in RNA processing bodies. The C-terminal domain of MHZ9 interacts with OsEIN2, a central regulator of rice ethylene signaling, and the N-terminal domain directly binds to the OsEBF1/2 mRNAs for translational inhibition, allowing accumulation of transcription factor OsEIL1 to activate the downstream signaling. RNA-IP seq and CLIP-seq analyses reveal that MHZ9 associates with hundreds of RNAs. Ribo-seq analysis indicates that MHZ9 is required for the regulation of ~ 90% of genes translationally affected by ethylene. Our study identifies a translational regulator MHZ9, which mediates translational regulation of genes in response to ethylene, facilitating stress adaptation and trait improvement in rice. The authors identify a GYF domain-containing protein MHZ9 in rice, which regulates ethylene signaling by directly binding to OsEBF1/2 and other mRNAs thus regulating their translation efficiency in P-body via interacting with OsEIN2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, two Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) closely related to bat merbecoviruses, NeoCoV and PDF-2180, were discovered to use angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for entry. The two viruses cannot use human ACE2 efficiently, and their host range and cross-species transmissibility across a wide range of mammalian species remain unclear. Herein, we characterized the species-specific receptor preference of these viruses by testing ACE2 orthologues from 49 bats and 53 non-bat mammals through receptor-binding domain (RBD)-binding and pseudovirus entry assays. Results based on bat ACE2 orthologues revealed that the two viruses were unable to use most, but not all, ACE2 from Yinpterochiropteran bats (Yin-bats), which is distinct from NL63 and SARS-CoV-2. Besides, both viruses exhibited broad receptor recognition spectra across non-bat mammals. Genetic and structural analyses of bat ACE2 orthologues highlighted four crucial host range determinants, all confirmed by subsequent functional assays in human and bat cells. Notably, residue 305, participating in a critical viral receptor interaction, plays a crucial role in host tropism determination, particularly in non-bat mammals. Furthermore, NeoCoV and PDF-2180 mutants with enhanced human ACE2 recognition expanded the potential host range, especially by enhancing their interaction with an evolutionarily conserved hydrophobic pocket. Our results elucidate the molecular basis for the species-specific ACE2 usage of MERS-related viruses and shed light on their zoonotic risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zircon-bearing Liushuzhuang Peridotite in the Tongbai Orogen provides insights into the composition and evolution of Paleozoic sub-arc lithospheric mantle between the North China and Yangtze cratons. This orogenic peridotite is dominated by clinopyroxene-free spinel facies harzburgite to dunite. The refractory nature is indicated by high olivine Mg# (up to 92.4), elevated spinel Cr# (74–87), and low orthopyroxene Al2O3 (mostly < 1.0 wt.%). The occurrence of zircon, amphibole, phlogopite, apatite, and LREE-enriched orthopyroxene, with Raman probe analyses showing amphibole and phlogopite inclusions in zircon, testifies to extensive fluid-driven metasomatism of the mantle at ca. 420 Ma (U–Pb zircon). The high spinel TiO2 contents (0.4–1.4 wt.%), the Cl-enriched apatite, and the hydrous secondary phases indicate that the metasomatic agent was volatile- (CO2 + H2O) and TiO2-rich. The elevated oxygen fugacity (∆logfO2 (FMQ) > 2.5) coupled with high spinel Cr# of peridotites suggest that they formed within highly oxidizing supra-subduction zone environment. In-situ87Sr/86Sri amphibole and apatite data indicate that the metasomatic fluids were slightly to moderately radiogenic (0.7032–0.7090) and therefore likely partially derived from the subducted Shangdan oceanic crust that separated the North China and Yangtze cratons. The very low 176Lu/177Hf (mostly < 0.0002) of metasomatic zircon and similar εHf(t) to Tongbai Orogen arc-related magmas implies that zircon grew during modification of sub-arc mantle. Juxtaposition with the host gneisses occurred after 410 Ma and before U–Pb closure during apatite cooling at ~ 340 Ma. The Liushuzhuang Peridotite therefore records intense metasomatism of the Paleozoic sub-arc mantle wedge prior to collision of the North China and Yangtze cratons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purposes: Temporary hemiepiphysiodesis (TH) using eight-plates is one of the most frequently performed surgeries for correcting angular deformities of the lower extremities in adolescents. Rarely have studies examined children with X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets (X-LHPR) treated with TH using eight-plates. This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy, the endpoint, and the complications of TH using eight-plates to correct angular deformities of the lower extremities in skeletally immature children. Methods: We reviewed a total of 26 children (86 physes, 52 knees) with X-LHPR (mean age of 6.2 years, range from 2 to 13 years) who underwent TH using eight-plate to correct angular deformities of the lower extremities. Radiographs and clinical records of these patients were evaluated for demographic data and related clinical factors. Results: The average correction of the mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA) was 11.7 ± 8.7° (range from 1.0 to 29.7°), and the average correction of the mechanical medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA) was 8.4 ± 5.0° (range from 0.3 to 16.7°). The mean deformity correction time was 22.7 months (range from 7 to 60 months), and the mean follow-up after eight-plate removal was 43.9 months (range from 24 to 101 months). Overall, 76.9% (20/26 patients) of the angular deformities of the knee were completely corrected and 15.4% (4/26) of the patients received osteotomy surgery. The femoral correction velocity (0.9° per month) was significantly higher than the proximal tibial (0.6° per month) (p = 0.02). The correction velocity of the mLDFA and mMPTA with the TH procedure was faster than that in the absence of intervention (0.9° vs. 0.2°, 0.7° vs. 0.4° per month, p < 0.05). The correction velocity of the mLDFA (1.2° vs. 0.5° per month, p < 0.001 ) and mMPTA (0.7° vs. 0.5° per month, p = 0.04) of patients whose age ≤ five years old was faster than that of patients whose age > five years old. A total of 69.2% (18/26) patients experienced one TH procedure using eight-plates only. Two patients had screw loosening (2/26, 7.7%). One patient (1/26, 3.8%) had a rebound phenomenon after the removal of eight-plate and had the TH procedure again. There was no breakage, infection, physis preclosure, or limited range of movement found in the follow-up. Conclusion: TH using eight-plates is a safe and effective procedure with a relatively low incidence of complication and rebound, and it could be used as part of a streamlined treatment for younger X-LHPR patients with resistant or progressive lower limb deformity despite optimal medical treatment. Early intervention can achieve better results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School guidance and counseling services are important for adolescent development. This study focused on the predictive role of three main delivery strategies (guidance curriculum, group counseling, and individual counseling) on students' positive development (academic, personal-social, career) and psychopathology (anxiety, depression, problem behaviors) in the high school context. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 59 high schools and 8556 students from mainland China. The results showed that the relationships between the number of times students attended guidance and counseling services and the domains of positive development were significantly higher than the relationship of the services with psychopathology. Furthermore, non-recursive model analyses showed that the latent variable of positive development mediated the influence of the services on psychopathology. In addition, psychopathology mediated the influence of counseling on positive development. The present findings confirm that school guidance and counseling services are effective for student development in China and provide partial support for the classification of guidance and counseling delivery strategies in terms of actual service effects. While paying attention to the differences in delivery strategies, school administrators are advised to consider the indirect effects of guidance and counseling on student development, which benefits the development and integration of comprehensive guidance services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and several bat coronaviruses use dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) as an entry receptor1–4. However, the receptor for NeoCoV—the closest known MERS-CoV relative found in bats—remains unclear5. Here, using a pseudotype virus entry assay, we found that NeoCoV and its close relative, PDF-2180, can efficiently bind to and use specific bat angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) orthologues and, less favourably, human ACE2 as entry receptors through their receptor-binding domains (RBDs) on the spike (S) proteins. Cryo-electron microscopy analysis revealed an RBD–ACE2 binding interface involving protein–glycan interactions, distinct from those of other known ACE2-using coronaviruses. We identified residues 337–342 of human ACE2 as a molecular determinant restricting NeoCoV entry, whereas a NeoCoV S pseudotyped virus containing a T510F RBD mutation efficiently entered cells expressing human ACE2. Although polyclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibodies or MERS-CoV RBD-specific nanobodies did not cross-neutralize NeoCoV or PDF-2180, an ACE2-specific antibody and two broadly neutralizing betacoronavirus antibodies efficiently inhibited these two pseudotyped viruses. We describe MERS-CoV-related viruses that use ACE2 as an entry receptor, underscoring a promiscuity of receptor use and a potential zoonotic threat.NeoCoV and its close relative, PDF-2180, can efficiently bind to and use specific bat ACE2 orthologues and, less favourably, human ACE2 as entry receptors through their receptor-binding domains on the spike protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decompressional melting of asthenosphere under spreading centers has been accepted to produce oceanic lithospheric mantle with vertical compositional variations, but these gradients are much smaller than those observed from ophiolites, which clearly require additional causes. Here we conduct high-density sampling and whole-rock and mineral analyses of peridotites across a Tibetan ophiolitic mantle section (~2 km thick), which shows a primary upward depletion (~12% difference) and local more-depleted anomalies. Thermodynamic modeling demonstrates that these features cannot be produced by decompressional melting or proportional compression of residual mantle, but can be explained by melt-peridotite reaction with lateral melt/rock ratio variations in an upwelling asthenospheric column, producing stronger depletion in the melt-focusing center and local zones. This column splits symmetrically and flows to become the horizontal uppermost lithospheric mantle, characterized by upward depletion and local anomalies. This model provides insights into melt extraction and uppermost-mantle origin beneath spreading centers with high melt fluxes. Upward depletion of ophiolitic mantle is produced by melt-peridotite reaction with lateral melt/rock ratio variations in an asthenospheric upwelling column, which flows to become the horizontal oceanic lithospheric mantle under spreading centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic stress leads to many psychiatric disorders, including social and anxiety disorders that are associated with over-activation of neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). However, not all individuals develop psychiatric diseases, many showing considerable resilience against stress exposure. Whether BLA neuronal activity is involved in regulating an individual's vulnerability to stress remains elusive. In this study, using a mouse model of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), we divided the mice into susceptible and resilient subgroups based on their social interaction behavior. Using in vivo fiber photometry and in vitro patch-clamp recording, we showed that CSDS persistently (after 20 days of recovery from stress) increased BLA neuronal activity in all the mice regardless of their susceptible or resilient nature, although impaired social interaction behavior was only observed in susceptible mice. Increased anxiety-like behavior, on the other hand, was evident in both groups. Notably, the CSDS-induced increase of BLA neuronal activity correlated well with the heightened anxiety-like but not the social avoidance behavior in mice. These findings provide new insight to our understanding of the role of neuronal activity in the amygdala in mediating stress-related psychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we present a graphene photodetector of which the graphene and structural system infrared absorptions are enhanced by interface phonon polariton (IPhP) coupling. IPhPs are supported at the SiC/AlN interface of device structure and used to excite interband transitions of the intrinsic graphene under gated-field tuning. The simulation results show that at normal incidence the absorbance of graphene or system reaches up to 43% or closes to unity in a mid-infrared frequency range. In addition, we found the peak-absorption frequency is mainly decided by the AlN thickness, and it has a red-shift as the thickness decreases. This structure has great application potential in graphene infrared detection technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sialon ceramics were prepared by the nitridation of Si, Al and Al2O3 powders with the transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni) catalysts. The phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of specimens were studied. Compared with the catalyst-free specimen, the addition of Fe, Co and Ni greatly promoted the nitridation process of Sialon ceramics and improved the weight gain rate and mechanical properties of specimens. With the increased content of catalysts, the apparent porosity of the products decreased first and then increased, contrary to flexural strength and compressive strength. The specimen with 2.5 wt% Fe had the highest flexural strength 145.8 MPa, and it exhibited the highest compressive strength of 594.6 MPa when Co content was 2.5 wt%, whereas they were 71.9 and 78.7 MPa, respectively, when without catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the formation of aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2aq) in a DC discharge plasma-liquid system with liquid as the anode. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the H2O2aq formation process is mostly controlled by the aqueous electron-induced reactions in the liquid zone directly affected by the plasma. It is shown that the low H2O2aq yield in this system is caused by quenching the dissolved OH radicals through aqueous electrons and alkalization in the plasma-directly-affected liquid zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanosis is major problem of crustaceans during their rigor mortis storage. This study for the first time was designed to optimize the formula of preservatives to maintain the color feature of Pacific white shrimp using response surface methodology. A three-factors-three-levels Box-Behnken design was applied to evaluate the effect of chitosan, citric acid and l-cysteine on color features (L*, a*, b* and ΔE) of Pacific white shrimp. It was found that the increasing rate of ΔE was retarded by the higher concentrations of chitosan, citric acid and l-cysteine in a certain range. The optimal formula for inhibiting the increase of ΔE was 1.36% chitosan, 0.47% citric acid and 0.31% l-cysteine. Under the optimal pretreated conditions, the predicted ΔE of shrimp after 8 days of storage was 14.59, close to the measured values (14.49). These results indicated that the optimal combined preservatives could retard the decrease of lightness and the aggregation of ΔE and melanosis effectively, and might be a potential application for retarding melanosis and extending shelf life of Pacific white shrimp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subduction is the core process of plate tectonics. The mantle wedge in subduction-zone systems represents a key tectonic unit, playing a significant role in material cycling and energy exchange between Earth's layers. This study summarizes research progresses in terms of subduction-related peridotite massifs, including supra-subduction zone (SSZ) ophiolites and mantle-wedge-type (MWT) orogenic peridotites. We also provide the relevant key scientific questions that need be solved in the future. The mantle sections of SSZ ophiolites and MWT orogenic peridotites represent the mantle fragments from oceanic and continental lithosphere in subduction zones, respectively. They are essential targets to study the crust-mantle interaction in subduction zones. The nature of this interaction is the complex chemical exchanges between the subducting slab and the mantle wedge under the major control of physical processes. The SSZ ophiolites can record melt/fluid-rock interaction, metamorphism, deformation, concentration of metallogenic elements and material exchange between crust and mantle, during the stages from the generation of oceanic lithosphere at spreading centers to the initiation, development, maturation and ending of oceanic subduction at continental margins. The MWT orogenic peridotites reveal the history of strong metamorphism and deformation during subduction, the multiple melt/fluid metasomatism (including silicatic melts, carbonatitic melts and silicate-bearing C-HO fluids/supercritical fluids), and the complex cycling of crust-mantle materials, during the subduction/collision and exhumation of continental plates. In order to further reveal the crust-mantle interaction using subduction-zone peridotites, it is necessary to utilize high-spatial-resolution and high-precision techniques to constrain the complex chemical metasomatism, metamorphism, deformation at micro scales, and to reveal their connections with spatial-temporal evolution in macro-scale tectonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The orogenic peridotites can be subdivided into crust- and mantle-derived types. They record complex geological processes in subduction and collision zones. The crust-derived peridotites are derived from cumulates crystallized from ultramafic-mafic magmas in deep continental crust, an early mantle-crust interaction, prior to subduction. The mantle-derived orogenic peridotites are originated from subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) wedge and other mantle domains, and are later involved in the subduction channel and orogenic system. The mantle-derived peridotites usually record complex metasomatism, ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphism and mantle-crust interaction during the orogenic processes. Zircons are rarely found in orogenic peridotites. These zircons in orogenic peridotites are generally formed during metasomatism, they can be divided into old zircons (mainly the cores of residual magmatic and recrystallized) and newly grown zircons. Three key factors for zircon formation in orogenic peridotites are that: (1) zircon has strong crystallization ability, and Zr is easier to exchange Si in zircon crystal structure than other elements in the mantle; (2) metamorphic destruction of Zr-bearing minerals and precipitation of intergranular melts during the high-grade metamorphism can nucleate zircon under sub-solidus conditions; (3) the melts/fluids released from the subducted crust can metasomatize the mantle wedge to form zircons. In-situ studies on zircons and zircon inclusions enclosed in mantle minerals indicate that zircon can be an ideal indicator for mantle- crust interaction in subduction zones. The inclusions in zircons and Hf-O isotope of zircons are effective to reflect the composition of the melts/fluids, source properties, and the physical and chemical conditions. Dating of the zircons has been widely used in the studies of lithospheric evolution and crust-mantle interaction. During the complex processes of plate convergence, the orogenic peridotites can be subjected to the melt/fluid metasomatism, modifying the mineral and elemental compositions of peridotites. Thus, zircon is very useful to unravel the history of specific lithospheric mantle and the relationship between continental cratonic cores and their margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wheelset treads and axle box bearings of railway vehicles often suffer from fatigue failures. Their regular maintenance highly depends on manual off-line inspection with low working efficiency and poor precision for early failure detection. This study proposes a fault diagnosis method by band-pass filtering and by enveloping the accelerations collected from the axle box bearing on the underfloor wheelset lathe to improve the maintenance efficiency. This process is followed by the refined phase difference correction using the four-term third derivative Nuttall-windowed fast Fourier transform (RPNWF) to extract accurate amplitudes of the fault characteristic frequency and its harmonics. The integration scheme, work flow, and application examples of the fault diagnosis system are presented. Simulation analysis and results show that the developed method can achieve effective diagnosis of the fault and fault degree of axle box bearings as well as yield better correction accuracy than the commonly used discrete spectrum correction methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A major QTL for multi-inflorescence was mapped to a 27.18-kb region on A05 in Brassica napus by integrating QTL mapping, microarray analysis and whole-genome sequencing.Abstract: Multi-inflorescence is a desirable trait for the genetic improvement of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). However, the genetic mechanism underlying the multi-inflorescence trait is not well understood. In the present study, a doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a cross between single- and multi-inflorescence lines was investigated for the penetrance of multi-inflorescence across 3 years and genotyped with 257 simple sequence repeat and sequence-related amplified polymorphism loci. A major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for penetrance of multi-inflorescence was mapped to a 9.31-Mb region on chromosome A05, explaining 45.81% of phenotypic variance on average. Subsequently, 13 single-inflorescence and 15 multi-inflorescence DH lines were genotyped with the Brassica microarray, and the QTL interval of multi-inflorescence was narrowed to a 0.74-Mb region with 37 successive single nucleotide polymorphisms between single- and multi-inflorescence groups. A 27.18-kb QTL interval was detected by screening 420 recessive F2 individuals with genome-specific markers. These results will be valuable for gene cloning and molecular breeding of multi-inflorescence in rapeseed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This has been corrected so that the leftmost seedling of each genotype is labelled "Air" and the rightmost seedling is labelled "ET". Correction to: I Nature Communications i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40429-0, published online 04 August 2023 The original version of this Article contained inadvertent errors in the labelling of Figure 1a. In the original version, both WT seedlings were labelled "Air" and both mhz9 seedlings were labelled "ET". [Extracted from the article]

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), a major source of vegetable oil in many Asian countries, has become an integral part of human diet globally due to its high nutritional properties and option to consume in different forms. In order to meet the demand of vegetable oil, many peanut breeding programs of China have intensified their efforts in increasing oil content in newly bred varieties for reducing the import of edible oils in China. In this context, transcriptome sequencing data generated on 49 peanut cultivars were analyzed to identify candidate genes and develop molecular markers for seed oil content across multiple environments. Transcriptome analysis identified 5458 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including 2243 positive DEGs and 3215 negative DEGs involved in oil synthesis process. Genome-wide association study identified 48 significant insertion/deletion (InDel) markers associated with seed oil content across five environments. A comparative genomics and transcriptomics analysis detected a total of 147 common gene clusters located in 17 chromosomes. Interestingly, an InDel cluster associated with seed oil content on A03 chromosome was detected in three different environments. Candidate genes identified on A03 form a haplotype, in which variable alleles were found to be different in oil content in an independent population. This locus is important for understanding the genetic control of peanut oil content and may be useful for marker-assisted selection in peanut breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The genetic locus for leaf trichome was identified via marker-based mapping and SNP microarray assay, and a functional marker was developed to facilitate the breeding for hairiness in Brassica oleracea. Abstract: Plant trichomes are involved in various functions particularly in protecting plants against some biotic and abiotic damages. In the present study, an F2 segregating population was developed from the cross between a glabrous cultivated B. oleracea (CC, 2 n = 18) and a hairy wild relative, B. incana (CC, 2 n = 18). A 1:3 segregation pattern between glabrous and hairy plants was detected among 1063 F2 genotypes, and the locus for hairiness was mapped in a 4.3-cM genetic region using 267 SSR markers among 149 F2 genotypes, corresponding to a 17.6-Mb genomic region on chromosome C01. To narrow the genetic region for hairiness, the Brassica 60 K SNP Bead Chip Arrays were applied to genotype 64 glabrous and 30 hairy F2 plants, resulting in a 1.04-Mb single peak region located in the 17.6-Mb interval. A candidate gene, BoTRY, was identified by qRT-PCR which revealed significant higher expression in glabrous F2 genotypes as compared with that in hairy plants. A cleaved amplified polymorphic site marker was successfully developed to distinguish the sequence variations of BoTRY between hairy and glabrous plants. Our study will be helpful for molecular breeding for hairiness in B. oleracea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel rolling bearing fault diagnosis strategy is proposed based on Improved multiscale permutation entropy (IMPE), Laplacian score (LS) and Least squares support vector machine-Quantum behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO-LSSVM). Entropy-based concepts have attracted attention recently within the domain of physiological signals and vibration data collected from human body or rotating machines. IMPE, which was developed to reduce the variability of entropy estimation in time series, was used to obtain more precise and reliable values in rolling element bearing vibration signals. The extracted features were then refined by LS approach to form a new feature vector containing main unique information. By constructing the fault feature, the effective characteristic vector was input to QPSO-LSSVM classifier to distinguish the health status of rolling bearings. The comparative test results indicate that the proposed methodology led to significant improvements in bearing defect identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructures, major- and trace-element compositions of minerals and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) maps of high- and low-Cr# [spinel Cr# = Cr/(Cr + Al)] chromitites and dunites from the Zedang ophiolite in the Yarlung Zangbo Suture (South Tibet) have been used to reveal their genesis and the related geodynamic processes in the Neo-Tethyan Ocean. The high-Cr# (0.77-0.80) chromitites (with or without diopside exsolution) have chromite compositions consistent with initial crystallization by interaction between boninitic magmas, harzburgite and reaction-produced magmas in a shallow, mature mantle wedge. Some high-Cr# chromitites show crystal-plastic deformation and grain growth on previous chromite relics that have exsolved needles of diopside. These features are similar to those of the Luobusa high-Cr# chromitites, possibly recycled from the deep upper mantle in a mature subduction system. In contrast, mineralogical, chemical and EBSD features of the Zedang low-Cr# (0.49-0.67) chromitites and dunites and the silicate inclusions in chromite indicate that they formed by rapid interaction between forearc basaltic magmas (MORB-like but with rare subduction input) and the Zedang harzburgites in a dynamically extended, incipient forearc lithosphere. The evidence implies that the high-Cr# chromitites were produced or emplaced in an earlier mature arc (possibly Jurassic), while the low-Cr# associations formed in an incipient forearc during the initiation of a new episode of Neo-Tethyan subduction at ~130-120 Ma. This two-episode subduction model can provide a new explanation for the coexistence of high- and low-Cr# chromitites in the same volume of ophiolitic mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When low-speed rolling bearings fail, it is hard to diagnose the extent of their damage. We developed a test rig to simulate the lowspeed rolling bearing operating condition, where bearings with various fault states are installed on the test wheelset and subjected to the same external loading condition. The collected bearing box acceleration time histories are processed with the Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method combined with kurtosis criterion to filter the trend and noise components. Five characteristic parameters of Alpha stable distribution (ASD) are identified by fitting the ASD distribution to the vibration acceleration signals and computing the Probability density function (PDF). To highlight the advantage of ASD method in feature extraction, kurtosis also has be calculated. Through sensitivity and stability analysis of the six parameters and utilization of Least squares support vectors machine (LSSVM) with Particle swarm optimization (PSO), three most sensitive and stable feature parameters including the characteristic exponent α, the scale factor γ and the peak value of the PDF h are located and applied to evaluate the low-speed rolling bearings' damage position and damage extent. The proposed method was validated by test data, and the results demonstrated that the ASD characteristics combined with PSO-LSSVM can not only achieve fault diagnosis of low-speed rolling bearings' damage position and damage extent, but also have better diagnosis accuracy and operational efficiency than other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent navigation and facility management in complex indoor environments are issues at the forefront of geospatial information science. Indoor spaces with fine geometric and semantic descriptions provide a solid foundation for various indoor applications, but it is difficult to comprehensively extract free multi-floor indoor spaces from complex three-dimensional building models, such as those described using CityGML LoD4, with existing methods for the subdivision or extraction of indoor spaces based on vector topology processing. Therefore, this paper elaborates a new voxel-based approach for extracting free multi-floor indoor spaces from 3D building models. It transforms the complicated vector processing tasks into a simple raster process that consists of three steps: voxelization with semantic enhancement, voxel classification, and boundary extraction. Experiments illustrate that the proposed method can automatically and correctly extract free multi-floor indoor spaces, especially two typical kinds of open indoor spaces, namely, lobbies and staircases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fermented rice cake (FRC) is a gluten-free food made from early indica rice by milling, fermenting and steaming, and the effects of fermenting by Brettanomyces custersii (ZSM-001) and steaming were investigated on texture and flavor. The fermented rice paste (FRP) exhibited lower peak gelatinization temperature ( T), G' and G ' than the rice paste (RP) during simulative steaming. Based on modified three-element model best fitting for stress relaxation, the equilibrium and decay elastic coefficient ( E and E), relaxation time ( τ) and viscosity ( η) were 236.6 Pa, 111.6 Pa, 2.6 s and 288.8 Pa∙s for FRC, respectively. These results suggested that fermenting degraded protein and lipid by enzymes, weakened starch gel network to modify the rheological characteristics, and generated foam which was stabilized during steaming by starch gelatinization to form elastic and porous texture. Moreover, fermenting released many volatile compounds including alcohols, aldehydes, esters et al. Specially, phenethanol, ethanol and phenylacetaldehyde contributed to strong bouquet. Steaming not only enhanced esters as main volatile flavor of FRC, but also accelerated the formation of taste amino acids as nonvolatile flavor, in which glumatic and aspartic acid contributed most to the taste. This work facilitates the understanding of texture and flavor formation of FRC by B. custersii ZSM-001 fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the effect of expectation-reality discrepancy in mediating the relationship between discrimination experience and quality of life (QOL) among rural-to-urban migrants in China.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,006 rural-to-urban migrants in 2004-2005 in Beijing, China. QOL was measured using the Chinese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). The migrants were also asked to report their experience of being discriminated against in the urban areas (i.e., discrimination experience), and their perceived difference between premigratory expectation and postmigratory reality in the city (i.e., expectation-reality discrepancy). Structural equation modeling (SEM) method was employed to assess the mediation effect.Results: Discrimination experience not only had a direct significant negative effect on QOL among rural-to-urban migrants, but also had an indirect effect through expectation-reality discrepancy on their QOL. Migrants' expectation-reality discrepancy exerted a partially mediation effect in the relationship between discrimination experience and QOL.Conclusions: Health promotion and prevention programs in the future to improve migrants' QOL should pay more attention to reducing the discrimination against migrants as well as helping migrants to reduce discrepancy between premigratory expectation and postmigratory reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotope, and major and trace element compositions were reported for granite at Quanyishang, which intruded into the Kongling complex in Yichang, Hubei Province. The results show that the Quanyishang granite is rich in silicon and alkalis but poor in calcium and magnesium, and displays enrichment in Ga, Y, Zr, Nb but depletion in Sr and Ba, exhibiting the post-orogenic A-type affinity. 90% zircons from the granite are concordant, and give a middle Paleoproterozoic magmatic crystallization age (mean 1854 Ma). Initial Hf isotope ratios ([sup176]Hf/[sup177]Hf)[subI] of the middle Paleoproterozoic zircons range from 0.280863 to 0.281134 and they have negative ϵ[subHf](t) values with a minimum of -26.3. These zircons give the depleted mantle model ages (T[subDM]) of 2.9-3.3 Ga (mean 3.0 Ga), and the average crustal model ages (T[subcrust]) of 3.6-4.2 Ga (mean 3.8 Ga)., A Mesoarchean grain with [sup207]Pb/[sup206]Pb age of 2859 Ma has a slightly high T[subDM] (3.4 Ga) but similar T[subcrust] (3.8 Ga) to the Paleoproterozoic zircons. All these data suggest that the source materials of the Quanyishang A-type granite are unusually old, at least ⩾2.9 Ga (even Eoarchean). The event of crustal remelting, which resulted in the formation of the Quanyishang granite in the middle Paleoproterozoic, recorded the cratonization of the Yangtze continent. The process may have relation to the extension and collapse of the deep crust with Archeanages, in response to the transition stage of the assembly and breakup of the Columbia supercontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only from the primary structures of peptides, a new set of descriptors called the molecular electronegativity edge-distance vector (VMED) was proposed and applied to describing and characterizing the molecular structures of oligopeptides and polypeptides, based on the electronegativity of each atom or electronic charge index (ECI) of atomic clusters and the bonding distance between atom-pairs. Here, the molecular structures of antigenic polypeptides were well expressed in order to propose the automated technique for the computerized identification of helper T lymphocyte (Th) epitopes. Furthermore, a modified MED vector was proposed from the primary structures of polypeptides, based on the ECI and the relative bonding distance of the fundamental skeleton groups. The side-chains of each amino acid were here treated as a pseudo-atom. The developed VMED was easy to calculate and able to work. Some quantitative model was established for 28 immunogenic or antigenic polypeptides (AGPP) with 14 (1–14) Ad and 14 other restricted activities assigned as “1”(+) and “0”(−), respectively. The latter comprised 6 Ab(15–20), 3 Ak(21–23), 2 Ek(24–26), 2 H-2k(27 and 28) restricted sequences. Good results were obtained with 90% correct classification (only 2 wrong ones for 20 training samples) and 100% correct prediction (none wrong for 8 testing samples); while contrastively 100% correct classification (none wrong for 20 training samples) and 88% correct classification (1 wrong for 8 testing samples). Both stochastic samplings and cross validations were performed to demonstrate good performance. The described method may also be suitable for estimation and prediction of classes I and II for major histocompatibility antigen (MHC) epitope of human. It will be useful in immune identification and recognition of proteins and genes and in the design and development of subunit vaccines. Several quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models were developed for various oligopeptides and polypeptides including 58 dipeptides and 31 pentapeptides with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition by multiple linear regression (MLR) method. In order to explain the ability to characterize molecular structure of polypeptides, a molecular modeling investigation on QSAR was performed for functional prediction of polypeptide sequences with antigenic activity and heptapeptide sequences with tachykinin activity through quantitative sequence-activity models (QSAMs) by the molecular electronegativity edge-distance vector (VMED). The results showed that VMED exhibited both excellent structural selectivity and good activity prediction. Moreover, the results showed that VMED behaved quite well for both QSAR and QSAM of poly-and oligopeptides, which exhibited both good estimation ability and prediction power, equal to or better than those reported in the previous references. Finally, a preliminary conclusion was drwan: both classical and modified MED vectors were very useful structural descriptors. Some suggestions were proposed for further studies on QSAR/QSAM of proteins in various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find that we made a mistake in the estimation of the H2O2 concentration by the colorimetric method in our previous paper (J. Lin et al., Eur. Phys. J. D (2020) 74: 80) [1]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By sampling 100 encoding proteins from SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV, NC 004718) and other six coronaviruses and selecting 23 variables through stepwise multiple regression (SMR) from 172 variables, the multiple linear regression (MLR) model was established with good results of the quantitative modelling correlation coefficient R² = 0.645 and the cross-validation correlation coefficient R² CV = 0.375. After removing 4 outliers, the quantitative modelling and cross-validation correlation coefficients were R² = 0.743 and R² CV = 0.543, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refractory lithospheric deep roots are the cornerstone for the prolonged stability of cratons and mantle xenoliths are normally the key targets for study on the evolution of such deep roots. In regions with few mantle xenoliths, the basalts enriched in radiogenic isotopic compositions due to marked lithospheric mantle contribution are crucial to unmask the lithospheric mantle evolution based on a comprehensive study involving petrology, geochemistry and thermodynamic modelling. Here, the Early Cretaceous basalts from the northwest North China Craton with few mantle xenoliths are taken as an example to show the significance of enriched basalts on the study of lithospheric mantle. These basalts are characterized by high silica and alkali contents (SiO2=45.8–59.8 wt.%, K2O+Na2O=4.81–9.88 wt.%), arc-type trace-element patterns and enriched radiogenic isotope compositions (e.g., εNd=−2.64–−12.88,87Sr/86Sr=0.7063–0.7093). The TiO2 and FeO (total) contents are higher than those of natural and experimental melts from refractory mantle peridotite but comparable to those of partial melts of fertile mantle rocks. The high contents of fluid-loving elements (e.g., Rb and Ba) suggest source metasomatism by aqueous fluids. Combined with thermodynamic modelling and regional tectonic history, these enriched basalts likely record simultaneous decompression melting of asthenosphere and low-extent melting of thin and fertile lithospheric mantle fluxed by aqueous fluids from the subducted Paleo-Asian oceanic slab. The newly unmasked lithospheric mantle under the western NCC contrasts with the coeval thick and refractory one supporting the eastern NCC, and highlights that the craton destruction, especially the loss of its ancient refractory mantle root, should take place in a diachronous manner related to the craton-girded subduction episodes. Our study illustrates the potential of enriched basalts to recover the nature and evolution of mantle lithosphere beneath craton margins and associated tectonic histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

l-Glutamate, a major excitatory amino acid, plays an important role in learning and memory. l-Glutamate uptake into synaptic vesicles is an ATP-dependent process. Exposure of neurons to high, sustained extracellular concentrations of glutamate results in excitotoxicity. Elevated levels of phosphomonoesters (PMEs), phosphodiesters (PDEs), and phosphocreatine (PCr) have been reported in Alzheimer disease (AD). In this article, the effects of selected PMEs, PDEs, and PCr on vesicular l-[3H]glutamate uptake into isolated bovine synaptic vesicles are investigated. d- myo-Inositol-1-monophosphate (I1P), d- myo-inositol-2-monophosphate (I2P), sn-glycero-3-phosphate, (α-GP) and PCr significantly stimulated l-[3H]glutamate uptake into synaptic vesicles. Phosphoethanolamine (PE), phosphocholine (PC), l-phosphoserine (L-PS) sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (GPC), and sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (GPE) had little or no effect on vesicular l-glutamate uptake. These observations suggested that the vesicular uptake of glutamate can be regulated by endogenous PMEs and PCr. The mechanism of activation by I1P, I2P, and α-GP appears to be stimulation of Mg2+-ATPase activity. These effects on vesicular glutamate uptake may be important in diseases in which the levels of these metabolites are altered, as they are in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern North China Craton (NCC), where an initially diamondiferous deep cratonic mantle root was lost during Paleozoic and Mesozoic time, represents a prime natural laboratory to study the processes and mechanisms of continental lithospheric mantle destruction and replacement, which remain, however, controversial. In this study, detailed petrography, whole-rock and mineral compositions of spinel-facies peridotite xenoliths from Cenozoic basalts in the Huinan area, northeastern NCC, are presented to provide new constraints on the transformation of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). These xenoliths define two groups based on textural observation and mineral modes: Group 1 peridotites show protogranular textures and consist of harzburgites and dunites. They have low Al2O3 contents in whole-rock and orthopyroxene (0.53-1.06 wt.% and 2.10-3.21 wt.%, respectively), high olivine modes (79-96%), whole-rock MgO (44.8-47.9 wt.%) and Mg# (100 Mg/(Mg + FeT) molar: 90.1-90.7), suggesting that they were derived from moderately refractory SCLM. In contrast, Group 2 xenoliths display porphyroclastic to protogranular textures and consist of lherzolites and harzburgites with rare spinel-pyroxene intergrowths. They have overall higher Al2O3 (1.48-3.23 wt.% and 3.02-4.65 wt.%, respectively) in whole-rock and orthopyroxene, lower olivine modes (64-83%), MgO (38.6-44.5 wt.%) and whole-rock Mg# values 87.6-90.1, and they may represent fertile SCLM. Peridotites of both groups have similar equilibration temperatures (i.e., 923-977 °C and 881-1110 °C, respectively), which are not correlated with Mg# in olivines, suggesting that they coexist over a range of depths. However, clinopyroxenes in the Group 1 xenoliths display LREE-enriched and convex-upward REE patterns, whereas those in Group 2 mainly show LREE-depleted and spoon-shaped REE patterns, with minor LREE-enriched and convex-upward ones. In addition, spinel-pyroxene intergrowths indicative of garnet destabilization are ubiquitous in Group 1, consistent with variable Al2O3 over a narrow range of Mg# in some opx and low HREE in some cpx, but rare in Group 2 peridotites. Interaction of the fertile mantle with melts similar to the Cenozoic basalts at high melt-rock ratios eradicated most signatures of their origin in the garnet stability field, whereas the refractory peridotites, which reacted with residual melts or fluids at low melt/fluid-rock ratios, retained evidence for the former presence of garnet. We suggest that, combined, these observations are best reconciled if portions of ancient refractory lithosphere, which were partly delaminated during multiple subduction episodes affecting the eastern NCC, were re-accreted together with fertile mantle during asthenospheric upwelling driven by extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is usually considered to be an important reagent in green chemistry since water is the only by-product in H2O2 involved oxidation reactions. Early studies show that direct synthesis of H2O2 by plasma-water interactions is possible, while the factors affecting the H2O2 production in this method remain unclear. Herein, we present a study on the H2O2 synthesis by atmospheric pressure plasma-water interactions. The results indicate that the most important factors for the H2O2 production are the processes taking place at the plasma-water interface, including sputtering, electric field induced hydrated ion emission, and evaporation. The H2O2 production rate reaches ~1200 μmol/h when the liquid cathode is purified water or an aqueous solution of NaCl with an initial conductivity of 10500 μS cm−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]